Push Me, Shove Me
by Nyx Nuit
Summary: Cassie and Bella are two powerful twins, and after years of being on the run they've settled in Washington. When the Cullens move in and Division wants their Patient Zero back, true psychic warfare may become a reality. Rated M for violence, language and eventual sex.
1. Chapter 1

**Nyx: So, I'm revising this bitch. Instead of taking it down and then putting it back up, I'm just gonna replace the old chapters with the new ones.**

**Puff: Resistance is futile!**

**Nyx: Well said, Puff! So, in all, anything you may recognize I don't own, all OCs are mine, music however is not.**

* * *

Chapter 1.

"Bella!" I jerked awake, trying to steady my breathing. People were moving around us, collecting their baggage from overhead. The only baggage I had was shoved underneath my seat. I rubbed at my eyes and yawned widely. "M'up," I muttered.

"Come on," Cassie said, dragging her messenger bag from underneath the seat. "The sooner we get off this contraption the better I'll feel."

"I told you to take a valium," I commented, starting to feel more awake, taking my own backpack from beneath my seat.

"I used the last two on our connection to Germany, remember?" Cassie said, her blue eyes were bloodshot, probably having not slept at all during the long flight from Sarajevo.

"Here, put these on, you looked like you puffed on a joint for the past six hours," I said, handing her my sunglasses. Donning our backpacks, we got off the plane, ignoring looks from the flight attendant. Apparently we looked far too young to be backpacking on our own. That and we looked almost exactly alike, if it weren't that my hair was a different color thanks to the dye I had stolen a couple months ago.

Cassie and I did our best to distinguish ourselves from each other so you could tell us apart, but we were walking into the heart of Asia. Hopefully we'd blend in with the Chinese, though I had my doubts. We made our way through the terminal, both of us looking around in a mad hope that we didn't stick out like sore thumbs. We prayed that we blended in with the other weirdos that were the tourists, but Cassie was dead on her feet and I had to practically carry her through the airport.

Hailing a taxi was going to be a bitch, seeing as I was supporting Cassie's weight. We were both lucky that I was near-fluent in Chinese. I had a feeling that hailing a taxi in Hong Kong was almost nothing like hailing a taxi in New York.

Dragging Cassie with me, I approached a taxi driver leaning against his vehicle, smoking a cigarette. "On break," he said in thickly accented English, "Ask later."

"_Please_," I said, speaking Chinese, "_my sister and I need a ride to the nearest hotel_."

"_No_," he replied, "_I'm on break_." Pulling a wad of notes out of my bag I held it up.

"_Will this be enough?_" I asked. Greed flashed in his eyes, knowing that the amount I held was a little over what the asking price was. I stuffed Cassie into the car, her half-lidded eyes slipping shut as her head lolled against my shoulder.

The old taxi driver went at an ungodly speed, taking unnecessarily sharp turns parking in front of a shabby motel. I handed him the money, hauling my sister out of the car, while carrying one backpack on each shoulder.

After the taxi left and I checked us into a room for the night, I practically threw my sister onto the bed. I counted the cash that we had, made sure that our weapons were loaded and in a place that was easy to reach before I crawled into bed and slept.

**_x-x-x_**

Cassie left the bathroom in a cloud of steam, toweling off her wet hair. "Did you use all of the hot water?" I asked, pulling on my shoes.

"Of course not," Cassie said, rolling her eyes.

"It was supposed to be a joke," I replied, picking up my backpack.

"Ha, you're a comic genius," Cassie snarked. "I'm starved, lets get out of here and find some food." we checked out of the hotel, finding a restaurant just down the road. I had to give Cassie a brief lesson on how to hold her chopsticks properly, so she could eat without making a fool of herself in the noisy market. Mouth full of food I asked, "You sure this Gant guy can help?"

"Pretty sure," Cassie said, pulling out her sketchbook, flipping through the drawings. She had significantly improved artistically after our stint in Florence about a year ago, before then her drawings looked like blobs and stick figures with nondescript facial features, now they looked like actual identifiable people.

Cassie's visions were mostly glimpses, since the future was always changing. Her Watching and her ability to Push sometimes gave her mild headaches, but not often enough to cause worry. Cassie's visions were the only reason we were in China, she even had a toothbrush for the guy we needed to see. We didn't know anything about him, except that he was a Mover, second generation like we were except I could probably kick his ass seven ways to Mars.

We made our way into the beginning layers of the Hong Kong slums, not far from downtown, really just a jumbled mess of apartment buildings and parks. China was most definitely a messier, more savage place than Japan. Cassie put a hand on my wrist as her eyes flicked to her watch, "Wait," she said, "the Sniffs haven't left yet."

"Sniffs!" I exclaimed, "Cassie! You didn't tell me there'd be Division agents in Hong Kong! What the fuck were you thinking?"

"That we need to save mom!" she replied, effectively shutting me up. I still continued to eye her, feeling a little betrayed that she would keep something that important from me.

I was honest with her about her shitty drawings and she shared the details of her visions. _Especially_ the ones that involved our mom. Folding my arms across my chest in a vice, we both waited for the Division Sniffs to clear out.

* * *

**Nyx: The first installment of the revised story! Voile!**

**Puff: Woohoo!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Nyx: Hola. Two updates in one day? Shocking I know, but I wanna get this bitch done. I have things to consider.**

**Puff: I really wanna rant right now! Can I rant?**

**Nyx: No! I'm trying to disclaim shit and talk to the readers!**

**Puff: Uggggh!**

**Nyx: So...I don't own anything you may recognize, all music and shit belongs to their respective owners, OCs belong to me and I think that's it...**

**Puff: Now?**

* * *

Chapter 2.

Cassie pulled out the disposable cell phone we rarely used, dialing an unfamiliar number as we made our way to the door that the Sniffs had just egressed. "Hey Nick," Cassie said. I took off my sunglasses, gnawing a little bit on the tip. Cassie pounded on the door with her fist, "Open up Nick," she sang into the phone, "oh and put your gun down."

"I doubt that he'll listen to you," I snorted. When he opened his door he had his gun pointed right at my sister's face. She hung up, "Put that thing away," she snapped, walking right into his apartment. Rolling my eyes I followed her, giving the Mover an up-down as I did. Cassie was rummaging in his fridge, pulling out a tupperware containing a single piece of chicken. "Hey! Whoa, whoa! Excuse you!" he protested, taking the chicken out of his hands. "Is this how you treat your guests?" she said.

"This is how I treat random strangers who barge into my apartment," he corrected.

"Like the Sniffs that were just here," I said.

"If it's any consolation, I got you a present," she handed him the toothbrush, that he took with a bit of apprehension. I looked around at his apartment, where clothes had been tossed in the obvious mad rush to pack and get the hell out of dodge. "You're a Watcher," he told Cassie.

"Tell us something we don't know," I snorted, he looked at me.

"And what are you?" he asked.

"Uh...a human being," I replied. His eyes narrowed at he looked at the both of us, looking cartoonish as his head swung back and forth to look at us. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"We'll introduce ourselves over lunch," Cassie said. I pulled out a lump of cash.

"We're buying," I added.

The elevator ride was awkward, seeing as Nick just kept staring at us with suspicion and I kept watching him, waiting for him to pull any crap. He led us through a fish market, stopping us by a place he knew. "So, you gonna tell me who you are?" he asked.

"I'm Cassie, this is my sister Bella," Cassie introduced us.

"Stop looking at us like that," I snapped.

"We're here to help you," Cassie said. Nick didn't look convinced. "This is about us finding six million dollars," she said, pulling out her sketchbook and flipping to the right picture. "See, this is all of us. That's our money."

"And my toothbrush," he said, still sounding unconvinced.

"You're a Mover, second generation, you suck 'cause you haven't practiced," Cassie went on.

"Go on..." he said. I leaned over to talk to the cook at the stand not two feet from where we were sitting. "_Hey!_" I said.

"_Yeah?_" replied the cook.

"_Anything with shrimp_," I told him. Nick looked at me. "You speak Chinese?" I asked him.

"No I speak Cantonese," he said, "surprised you didn't already know that."

"Cassie gets things wrong sometimes," I replied.

"The future always changes," Cassie said, "even just by talking about it. I get glimpses and then I try to draw it but I'm no Picasso." Nick picked up a pair of chopsticks, splitting them as the cook set down the bowls in front of us.

I handed him some money and he counted it out, handing me back the change. I shoved the rest of the bills in my pocket, and picked up another pair of chopsticks, lifting large lumps into my mouth. Nick glanced over his shoulder with obvious unease, "I wouldn't worry about those thugs you owe money to. We'll be able to take care of it in a couple of days," Cassie said through a mouthful of noodles. "And where is this money?" he asked.

"It's on its way here," Cassie said, "with a girl." Apparently some poor soul had escaped Division was on the run like we were, except she had stolen something. Something Cassie had refused to tell Nick about. What the girl was carrying, wasn't cash itself, but what it was worth was a different story. "Don't tell me, let me guess, the same girl the Sniffs were looking for," he said.

"Mmhmm," Cassie hummed, a noodle dangling out of her mouth.

"Well," Nick said, putting down his chopsticks, "Cassie, Bella. Enjoy your food."

"That's it?" Cassie asked, looking up at him.

"I told you that he wouldn't listen," I told her, she gave me a look to keep my mouth shut.

"I'm sorry," Nick said, steadily walking away, "but a couple of twelve year olds bringing me a toothbrush isn't enough to get me involved with Division. Even if it isn't a con." I pushed back from the table, fully prepared to kick this guy's ass in the middle of the fish market. Cassie put a hand on my wrist, tugging me along while simultaneously telling me to calm the fuck down. I stepped in front of him, "First of all, _Gant_, we're _thirteen_," I said.

"You will help us," Cassie added, "This isn't a con. Not finding the girl and the case will bring about bad things!" but Nick sidestepped us.

"I'm getting a message," he said, moving his hands around his head and closing his eyes in mockery of a carnival fortune teller, "it says: Find somebody else!"

"Fine," Cassie snapped, "don't believe us. But you _will_ help us," she repeated. Nick snorted. Cassie's hand shot out, gripping his sleeve as her eyes glazed over, blind to the present. When her eyes cleared she swore loudly, and gripped Nick's sleeve dragging him in the opposite direction we had been walking in.

"Come on," she said, "there are Bleeders, here in the market." Regardless of the warning, we didn't get very far. Three Chinese men and a girl intercepting us. "Where is the girl?" the eldest man demanded, "my daughter has already seen you with her."

"I fucking told you," Cassie growled under her breath, reaching for her gun, but lollipop girl pulled her pistol out, pointing it directly between the eyes of my sister,

"Stupid child," she taunted, "I already saw how you die."

"Oh good, then you already know that it's not here, and it ain't today." before the girl's finger twitched I Moved them all out of the way. Nick looked a little bug-eyed as we dragged him through the fish market, playing a rather dangerous game of Duck and Shoot.

I knew we were about to lose when the big tanks to our left burst in a shower of glass, sending us sliding across the floor. I heard their footsteps approaching, acting on impulse I grabbed my sister and hauled her off the floor. "We can't just leave him!" she protested as the vibrations of the Screams began to shake the walls, reverberating off the tile.

I forced her to move along, tugging her with my telekinesis as I pulled her farther away from the market. Nick's pained screams reached us from where we stood, getting a fainter as we ran. "I can't believe you-" Cassie began when we finally slowed to a stop.

"You are more important to me than some low-class Mover who won't even believe the warnings of a Watcher who clearly has more experience than he does!" I hissed, invading her personal space. Her mouth snapped shut as she stared me in the eye.

"The case is obviously important to them too," I said, getting a grip on myself, "and if they kill him, chances are they lose their connection to it." Cassie nodded, sucking back the tears that had welled in her eyes. I rolled mine at the thought of her already taking a shine to the Mover who thought he knew it all. "Come on, we'll find a place to wait," I said, my voice softening.

"And something to eat," she said.

"Good call," I replied, "I didn't get to finish my lunch."

* * *

**Nyx: That's chapter two! Now tell me how much it sucks...**

**Puff: Can I rant _now_?**

**Nyx: *sigh* Go ahead.**

**Puff: *takes a deep breath* -**


	3. Chapter 3

**Nyx: This warning may be a little too late, but the first few chapters will follow the movie's story line and then we reach the aftermath and the huge 'What happens next?'. Sound good? Okay.**

**Puff: No it doesn't. I want some fucking ice cream dammit!**

**Nyx: *sigh* Puff...remember what the doctor said-**

**Puff: Screw the doctor! I want some fucking doughnuts!**

**Nyx: Well, you all probably know that if I owned Push or Twilight, I wouldn't be sitting here writing Fan Fiction. Instead, I'd be in England, buying my Gram a shitload of ice cream and cat toys for her furry monsters.**

* * *

Chapter 3.

I finished my soup with a loud slurp just as Cassie pulled out her sketchbook and a pencil, her hand moving quickly across the page as she quickly sketched something out. When she finished she frowned a little, cocking her head to the side before taking her red pencil and coloring it in. "What is it?" I asked. She held up a picture of a door, a lotus painted on it's face and a woman in red holding a cigarette.

Squiggly lines showed power radiating from her other hand and underneath her feet was a single word: "Stitch". I handed Cassie her sketchbook back, and stole her last dumpling. She didn't even protest, too focused on getting Nick to help us to give a shit.

I put a bill under my bowl and let Cassie lead the way, her visions telling us if we were going the right way or not. Finally asking someone if they knew the place, we got pointed in the right direction. The door was little more than a thin plastic barrier between us and the inside of the shop. There were men playing on little instruments, no one said anything as we looked around for the Mover.

Nick was lying on a table, dried blood crusted on his ears and a little along his jaw. Cassie pulled out her gun, pointing it at the door. "I already know you're here," she said, the gun shaking a little. The woman from Cassie's sketchbook stepped into the room, her blood red coat standing out in the bleak room, a cigarette in her hand.

"You must be Cassie," she said, her eyes flicked to me, "and Bella." My lip lifted a little in a bit of a snarl.

"Who sent you?" Cassie asked, lowering her gun. I didn't lower my guard, well aware of the holster of the gun tucked neatly in the waistband of my jeans.

"Your mother," she said, bringing us both up short. "Before she was captured by Division she told me to be at that fish market today." the Stitch lifted Nick's head roughly, examining his face.

"Stay away from him," Cassie snapped, the woman dropped his head in turn.

"Fine," she replied, "if that's what you want. Just be sure to add his picture to the Wall of the Dead." she gestured to the pictures lining the wall. "Years ago, your mother did me a favor. Now I would like to pay off my debt." Cassie sat down, but I didn't, folding my arms across my chest.

The woman shed her coat and her handbag, lifting Nick's shirt to expose a map of angry contusions across his back. Her fingers gently stroked the skin, her eyes roving over the wounds.

"I hear they've got your mother buried deep inside Division," she said, a bit of a taunt in her voice, "So drugged up she can't even hold a spoon." I locked my jaw so I wouldn't Scream out of anger, my teeth beginning to creak from the pressure. She looked at us, "I bet they sucked the future right out of her." Cassie's spine went ramrod straight and her face tensed.

I clenched my fists, a vase to my far left shattering as the Stitch dug her fingers into the skin of Nick's back, Stitching him back together, healing the broken blood vessels and forcing the blood back from where it had welled underneath the skin.

Nick writhed on the table as the Stitch finished her work, stilling when she removed her hands, gathered her things and left. Cassie pulled out her sketchbook and pencils, lines coming together to form bodies, puddles of blood and a tiger. Her hair was tied back with one of mom's old ribbons, her fingers working quickly to put what she had Seen to paper. Nick finally woke up, hunched over on the edge of the table. "You okay?" Cassie asked.

"Yeah," he replied, "that woman's got magic fingers."

"We should get out of here," I said.

"Division's got the girl and they'll get the case," Cassie said, frowning, "I don't know what went wrong. Something I did, a mistake we made..."

"It's not your fault Cass," I said, "We'll figure something out."

"I haven't even gotten to the worst part yet," Cassie said.

"What's that?" Nick asked, putting the safety on his gun. Cassie held up her sketchbook.

"We die."

We got into a taxi, Cassie and I on either side of Nick, my sister's book out on her lap. Nick amused himself by turning pages with his mind, before trying to bring the book into his lap instead, dropping it before he could even lift it two inches. "Lame," Cassie and I chorused.

"You gotta work on your skills," Cassie added. Nick looked back at the page the book had fallen open to.

"I know this place," he said tapping the logo of a woman in a martini glass, "but what's with the olive?"

"It's a bead," Cassie snapped. Nick held his hands up in surrender.

"Okay, what's a bead got to do with it?"

"I don't know what a shimmery shiny bead has to do with it," Cassie sighed shaking her head. Nick told me to give the driver an address, which I translated. Nick continued to flip through Cassie's book, stopping on a sketch of Henry Carver, self appointed head of Division and currently known as the most powerful Pusher in the world, though if the girl learned how to use the effects of the drug to her advantage, Carver would have a powerful enemy on his hands, or ally if he got his grubby paws on her.

We pulled up to the club, the sign matching Cassie's drawing. I got out of the taxi while my sister paid the driver, telling him to keep the change in her limited Chinese. I smirked at Nick, "Frequent this place often Gant?" I asked. He didn't respond, just walking inside the door.

"This is a place for grownups," he said awkwardly, "So-"

"Shut up," we chorused.

"That sounds about right," he amended. We were stopped by a man in a suit who was frantically telling us to leave. Nick grabbed a couple of bills and handed them to him, "Five minutes," Nick pleaded, "just five minutes!" we rushed further into the club, Nick stopping a waitress to ask for a man named Hook Waters.

We were directed towards a Hindu man, entertaining a woman with card tricks. Nick seemed pretty familiar with him, though we both got odd looks when Cassie attempted to order a cocktail. "She'll have a coke," Nick told the waitress.

"My mom drinks when she wants clear images, she's famous for it," Cassie defended. Nick wouldn't budge. Hook seemed to realize just exactly who we were, picking up Cassie's sketchbook and looking at her drawings. "I knew your mother," he said, "when I was with Division, she was at the top of every Watchlist."

"You worked with Division?" I asked. Hook fixed me with an unreadable look, handing Cassie her drawings back.

"You wanna know about Division?" he asked, "Ten years. No 'thank you', no pension. I was put out on the street with a threat not to Shift again. Sniffs caught up with me in Chicago, next day I get a call that my wife is dead. Car accident. But my wife doesn't drive," he said, taking a sip of his drink. "But, I'm pretty sure you know how that feels." Cassie and I exchanged a look. Nick picked up the book, "We need this." he pointed to the drawing of the bead.

"An olive?" Hook asked.

"It's a bead," Cassie snapped, looking exasperated. Hook took a passing waitress's earring, passing his hand over it. "A bit more round...that's it," Cassie said, "just how I saw it."

"I would take it to Emily Hu," Hook said, writing down a phone number and an address, "she's a Sniffer." I picked up the card and looked at it, then back at Hook.

"Thanks," Nick said, shaking Hook's hand. I gave him a nod and slid out of the booth after the Mover.

* * *

**Nyx: Chapter 3, signed, sealed and delivered.**

**Puff: We don't even have any sugary cereal in the house! What's this world come to?!**

**Nyx: So, Puff's on a serious withdrawal from fatty sugars and empty carbohydrates. Reviews are appreciated!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Nyx: Chapter four, yaaaay!**

**Puff: Four days until Christmas! Yay!**

**Nyx: You've already started pigging out on eggnog.**

**Puff: Good stuff.**

**Nyx: It's fuckin' gross is what it is. Now, if I owned Twilight or Push I wouldn't be writing fan fiction for it now would I? OCs are mine, music isn't 'kay?**

* * *

Chapter 4.

"Are you with Division?" she asked us. Cassie and I snorted in tandem, exchanging a look.

"Are you looking at us?" I asked.

"We need your help," Nick said, placing the bead in the middle of her desk, "Whoever owns this is supposed is supposed to help us bring down Division." The woman stared at the bead, hiding her recognition but not by much. "I can't help you," she said.

"We need to find the owner of this bead, or else Cassie here says we die," Nick said, gesturing offhandedly to my sister.

"And you believe her?" the woman snorted. Cassie wasn't listening, her hand moving swiftly across the page before holding up the sketch. "You have a minute to help us," she said pointing to the various elements of the drawing, "There's your poster, that's the bead, there's the clock. One minute," she emphasized. The clock changed and Miss Hu seemed to have finally made up her mind, "_You remind me of someone I used to know_," she said lowly, Cassie's nose scrunched up in confusion while the Sniff pulled out a bead in a little plastic bag.

"They've been spreading these all over the city," she said, stripping off one of her gloves and holding the bead to her nose. Her eyes closed as she inhaled, taking in the images. "You'll find who you're looking for at Kwun Tong pier," she said.

_**x-x-x**_

The place was completely deserted, no sign of life at all...that is, until someone began firing at us. I deflected the bullets, as quick as they came, they stopped. "Whoa!" Nick yelled, turning to see who had shot at us. "Kira?" he asked, his eyes bugging out.

"Dammit!" the girl swore, "there goes my ride!"

"You're the girl Division's looking for?" Nick went on.

"I should kill you, Nick," she hissed.

"Wait wait...you _know_ this psycho?" Cassie said, laughing a little.

"This isn't really the time or place, people," I said loudly, as Nick and Kira had a little back-n-forth.

"You two had a thing, whatever, get over it!" Cassie shouted, interrupting their moment.

"Yeah, let's take my advice and get the fuck outta here!" I added. We ended up squashed into a taxi taking us further inland, stopping at a market. Cassie's newest drawing was grotesque, and she was frowning into the penciled lines like no tomorrow. "What is it?" I asked her, she tapped one of the drawn figures.

"Mom," she said, "I-I've never Seen mom's death before."

"Did we do something wrong?" I asked, "Is it us?"

"No," Cassie shook her head before locking her eyes on something behind me, her gaze hardening before she marched up to Nick and pulled him aside, they began having an argument and I figured I better interfere before someone ended up shot. "She's changing the future!" Cassie hissed, "she's making it _worse!_" she said.

"We'll find a Shadow," Nick said, "will that make you happy?"

"No!" Cassie replied.

"You gotta learn to trust me," he said trying to console her.

"I'm not the one with trust issues," she snarled, "you better think of something quick 'cause I'm getting sick of drawing dead bodies." Back the pier, we boarded a ferry across the water to meet up with the Shadow. The man was missing half his pinkie finger, and it just so happened that his name was Pinkie.

He gave us the terms and conditions, Nick agreed even though we all knew he was skint broke and there was no way Cassie and I were cleaning out what little savings we had to pay this guy.

We checked into a hotel room, paying for a night while we waited for Miss Gunslinger to get her memory back. I lay on the bed with my feet near Cassie's head, "We're just gonna sit here and wait," I deadpanned, "_great_plan Nick. _So_ productive."

"Can you come up with a better idea?" Nick asked.

"Beat her over the head with a baseball bat?" I said, craning my neck to look at him. The look on his face clearly told me that he didn't think my joke was funny, "Head trauma always works in the cartoons." He rolled his eyes and looked away, clearly telling me that he was through talking to me. Pinkie laughed though, while reading his newspaper.

My stomach growled and I swung my legs over the side of the bed, "Where you going?" Nick demanded.

"Relax Gant," I said, "I'm hungry, a girl's gotta eat."

"I'll come with you," Cassie said, "I need a pick me up." I ordered something at a nearby stall while Cassie wandered off a ways. I managed to finish off a bowl of noodles and a plate of dumplings before Cassie came ambling back, drunk as a sailor. I looked at my sister with exasperation, paying for my food and pulling her along back to the hotel room while she babbled in my ear. "Pop Girl freaks me out," she confessed, "she's a Watcher, like me."

"Uh huh," I said, "That's nice Cass."

"She's better than I am," she whined.

"She's a disillusioned girl," I said, "you'll be fine."

"I mean come on," Cassie went on pulling out my grip, "we'll all die anyway! What's the point?!" she followed me into the room, kicking the door shut. "HELLO!" she bellowed, Nick came out of the bathroom. "Where's the chicky chicky who gets us all killed?" she slurred. Speak of the devil, Kira came out of the bathroom, wiping her face. "Are you drunk?" Nick demanded.

"Yeah," Cassie replied then waved her hands in Kira's face. "You! You screw it all up!" she shouted. Kira rolled her eyes.

"I didn't know the procedure was stopped by a blitzed ten year old," Pinkie said.

"I'm _thirteen!_" Cassie slurred indignantly. "And I am powering my use!"

"I can't believe this," Nick said, trying not to laugh.

"You don't get it Nick! She's the one who kills us all, basically!" Cassie shouted, stripping off her coat and flopping into a chair.

"By 'we', you mean not-" Pinkie began.

"You too!" Cassie said, propping her feet up. "'Cause Pop Girl's a better Watcher than I am!"

"Hey, nobody said anything about a Watcher," Pinkie said, looking a little panicked, "I can only work long-term against Sniffs."

"Good," Cassie snapped, her hair falling across her face, revealing a faded strip of blue from a failed coloring attempt when we were in England.

"No, it's true," Pinkie defended, "you got a Watcher after you, it's only a matter of time."

"So, we split up," Nick said slowly. "Give her two things to track instead of one. Pinkie and Kira, you'll-"

"I'm not going with him," Kira protested, "No offense," she added.

"None taken, I know you're sweet on the Champ," Pinkie said good naturedly. Nick and Kira had another moment where they stared into each others eyes. Cassie dozed off, and I covered her with her jacket.

I looked at Kira, my vocal chords tensing a little as she gathered her things. The girl set off a warning bell, something telling me that she was a bit off where it counted.

Nick and Kira took the bed and I stole the other chair to doze off in, leaving Pinkie to hang out on the floor.

Cassie shook me awake, "Pop kids are coming," she said, sounding breathless, her eyes a bit bloodshot from her hangover. I had to Scream to wake up the lovebirds, leaving their ears ringing unpleasantly. Both of them glared at me and I just narrowed my eyes in a silent threat in do it again.

I was put into a taxi with Pinkie and Kira, leaving Nick with a threat not to let anything happen to my sister or it was his nuts. I was with the Pusher and the Shadow on the way to another hotel, left to wait. Cassie would stay with Nick to give him any heads up, while I kept my phone in my pocket.

We had only been in the room for an hour when Kira started to look a little pale, then she began vomiting and dark blood dripped slowly from her nose. Her body temperature sky rocketed, and she laid on the bed, her hands over her stomach with a towel under her head while she slept. I was left playing Nursemaid while Pinkie kept an eye out in the hallway.

They didn't come back until night was starting to set in, Nick looking a little banged up. I got up and left, Moving him roughly out of the way. I breathed a sigh of relief seeing my sister still alive, everything was fine and dandy...until she told me what Nick had done.

I burst back into the hotel room and Moved him sharply into wall. "What the hell where you_ thinking?_" I demanded, "There's a reason we _avoid_ Division agents. They've _never_ encountered someone with _two_ powers, we're just as high on the Watchlist as Little Miss Trouble is here, maybe even higher! You going to confront Carver put not only me and my sister in danger but everyone else that's involved in this! You got me?" Kira stirred on the bed. I let Nick down from where I had him pinned to the wall. "Pull another stunt like that and I _will_ kill you," I glared. Cassie burst into the hotel room, throwing down her sketchpad and taking Kira's shoe and turning it in her hands. Pulling a key from the inside and holding it up.

"Think we need to pay another visit to Emily Hu," Cassie muttered.

* * *

**Nyx: Ta daa! *jazz hands***

**Puff: Ew, don't do that.**

**Nyx: Anyhoo...Happy Holidays! Reviews are appreciated :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Nyx: Pop goes the weasel!**

**Puff: I always found that nursery rhyme a little fucked up.**

**Nyx: So, OCs are mine, Push and Twilight aren't. Happy reading and Happy New Year!**

* * *

Chapter 5.

"Whatever this key unlocks is being Shadowed," Emily said, a frown on her face. "Like nothing I've ever seen before. But I know, it's this way." facing the thick of downtown where there were at least six skyscrapers stretching towards the sky. Cassie pulled out her sketchbook, flipping a page to a drawing of the buildings...but there was one missing. "I thought Shadows weren't supposed to work against Watchers," Nick said.

"We aren't," Pinkie said, "but we're also not supposed to be able to Shadow entire buildings."

"At least we know where it is," Cassie said, "but we can't do shit with that bitch watching us. She sees intentions, what we decide to do."

"What if we keep changing our minds?" Nick said, "Will that throw her off?"

"Maybe, I don't know," Cassie said throwing her hands up, "but we still need the case."

"Watchers everywhere are watching us and what we decide to do, that's why we all keep dying in Cassie's visions," I said.

"What?" Hook demanded.

"You die outside an elevator," Cassie told him.

"So how do we change it?" Hook said, "how do we make the future unpredictable?" Nick came up with several envelopes and pieces of paper.

"By not knowing exactly what we're going to do, until right before we do it."

_**x-x-x**_

Kira and Pinkie were put in a taxi, Nick gave us our letters and turned to start on his way. "Nick," Cassie said, he stopped and looked at her, "take an umbrella. S' gonna rain."

"You be careful too," he said, thinking she was being poetic or something.

"Yeah sure, it was nice knowin' ya," I muttered. Hook walked in another direction while my sister and I went with Emily. At exactly seven thirty-five we opened our letters, Cassie and I exchanged a look then looked at Emily who gave us a nod.

We waited for Hook to get back with the case, then set up a decoy.

We went back to Nick's old apartment, Cassie drew a picture and hung it somewhere where her visions told her Nick would see it, we put the decoy suitcase in the appropriate place before hiding elsewhere.

Cassie couldn't resist a taunting phone call to Pop Girl before went back up to the apartment, Cassie Pushed the Stitch into being more compliant, we tied her up and left her there. "My note said to tell you that Kira is in a hotel downtown with Division, room 216 on Batang Street," Cassie said.

"Our note said more than that," I added, "Was everyone else's that complicated?"

"I knew you two could handle it," Nick said giving us a smile.

"Good to know you have faith in us," I deadpanned. Nick looked at both of us.

"Take care you two," he said sounding eerily like Renee, the night she left us.

"What are you gonna do?" Cassie asked.

"I can't tell ya," Nick replied. We exchanged a look and I jerked my head in the opposite direction. We stopped at a coffee joint, waiting for Cassie to see something, my nails drummed on the table as it got dangerously close to closing time.

I bought an umbrella at a nearby pawn shop, it was ugly as fuck and covered in leopard print but it would have to do. The building where the real case was hidden looked like it had been ripped apart by the Hulk then torn through by a damned hurricane.

There were bodies everywhere, blood spattered all over the floor, pools of it in multiple places along with what looked like brain matter. I saw one of the Pop kids, his eyes bulging out like a dead fish, speared through the neck with a length of bamboo.

"Look, Division didn't even bother to clean up their mess," I said, looking around. Cassie nodded towards a flight of stairs, finding Nick at the top laid out across the glass, the empty syringe next to him. We stood over him, looking down at him.

I was tempted to nudge him with my foot and say, "Is he dead?"

His eyes opened a little. "I told you to bring an umbrella," Cassie said, referring to the pipe leak directly above him.

"I thought you said it was gonna rain," he said.

"I also told you that I get things wrong sometimes," she said, wearing a smirk. Nick got to his feet with a grimace, walking with an obvious limp.

"So where's the real case?" he asked.

"Walk with us," I smirked. Going down the stairs was obviously a bitch for him, and his agitation was growing as we led him to the dumpster, pulling out the shiny black case and taking the syringe from its confines.

"This is the key Nick," Cassie said, "Division will do anything to keep this from falling into the wrong hands."

"So trade the drug for your mom?" Nick asked us. We exchanged a look.

"We're still working on that," we replied.

"Hey, what was it that I injected myself with?" Nick asked, Cassie and I exchanged another look.

"Nine Dragon Soy Sauce," I said.

"That's gross," Nick deadpanned, hobbling along on his injured foot.

He was tempted to hop back on a plane heading stateside, probably to make more memories at the famous Coney Island. "What do you see?" he asked Cassie, she looked at him.

"A lot of things," she said, "but I wouldn't worry, Little Miss Trouble will be back. You'll see."

"And what are you two gonna do?" he asked.

"We've got enough cash to fly stand-by," I said, "we might pay a visit to the states or head back to Europe."

"Bella's picking the place this time," Cassie added, "since I dragged her ass here."

"Yeah and look at all the shit we got into," I said looking at her. She shrugged, looking unrepentant.

That night Cassie sat up in bed, sketching out a large scene with her colored pencils and charcoal. When she finished she turned the page towards me, "What do you think?" she asked. I smirked.

"Brilliant," I replied. We taped the drawing to Nick's forehead while he slept, before we gathered what we could and we left. "You think he'll get the hint?" Cassie asked as we crawled into a taxi.

"If he doesn't then he's _way_ stupider than I originally thought," I said, "Airport," I told the driver. Punching the gas, we were thrown back into the seat, exchanging a look before I glanced at the roof of the car hoping that we made it onto a flight in one piece.

_**x-x-x**_

A woman's voice came over the intercom, announcing our flight to the US. "Wha's she say?" Cassie said groggily, starting from her nap on my shoulder.

"She said we're boarding," I said, "come on lazy bones."

"Hey," Cassie protested lazily as I yanked her up, "I'm not lazy. I hate planes."

"That's why I gave you the Xanax," I said. The woman at the desk looked at us funny, again because we more than likely looked far too young to travel by ourselves, that because Cassie looked stoned. But we were thirteen and we were used to this shit, being on our own is the norm for us, but it was probably time for us to cool our jets and hope against hope that Division wouldn't be an annoying meddling entity and fuck it all up.

Cassie sat across the aisle from me, next to a snippy business man and I sat next to a really really old woman who hummed songs in Chinese and knitted, until she fell asleep. Eventually I dozed off, sleeping dreamlessly until the flight attendant shook me awake.

Cassie and I had to run for our connection to Washington, dodging the millions of people coming into LAX, shoving returning honeymooners in their Hawaiian shirts out of our way in our mad dash to catch our plane.

We made it by little more than a hair, squeezing into our seats and toughing out the rest of our journey. Cassie was very irritable and ready to punch any poor sucker than tried to talk to her and tell them exactly where and how they were going to die after the happy pills wore off.

When we landed at Sea-Tac, I got her off of that plane and out into the terminal. The rest of the trip was spent with her asleep on my shoulder, the taxi we rode in smelling of wet dog and cigarette smoke.

We tipped our driver in Chinese currency, at which he tried to protest, eventually Cassie Pushed him into going back to Seattle, believing that he was giving us a free ride as a favor to a friend and to forget the whole thing. It was either that or kill him, then we would have had to hide the taxi or report it found.

Cassie and I turned to face the house, "Are you sure this is the address you pulled up?" Cassie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"11344 Brooke Drive, Forks, Washington," I recited, "Yep." I glanced at the police cruiser sitting in the driveway and smirked to myself. "Oh, this is gonna be fun."

"What do you think he'll say? He hasn't seen us in years," Cassie said, wearing a grimace.

"You tell me," I said, "you're the Watcher." Cassie gave me a look that said I wasn't helping so I just hauled her up the drive and rang the doorbell.

Silence, then shuffling footsteps, a clicking of the lock before he opened the door and froze, seeing us there. "Hi Daddy," we chorused.

* * *

**Nyx: The plot from now on is completely mine. MWA-HAHAHAHHAHAHA!**

**Puff: Do I have something on my face?**

**Nyx: Er...no. Well...penny for your thoughts?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Nyx: So...yeah, this one's late. Sorry about that.**

**Puff: Valentine's Day is coming up!**

**Nyx: Eurgh don't remind me. As if couples weren't already insufferable. I'm all for reading about it, seeing it in person just makes me bitter.**

**Puff: I'm hopin' to find a nice she-dragon. Maybe settle down, have some baby-dragons. Teach them all the finer aspects of the human world...like doughnuts!**

**Nyx: Holy Poseidon. You reproducing? I'm bound to have nightmares. And I don't own Push by the way...and I'm kinda glad I don't own Twilight. The whole world is laughing at the concept of the most dangerous fictional predator friggin' _sparkling_. I sense a rant coming on...I'll leave you to it...**

* * *

Chapter 6.

_Three years later . . ._

I yawned widely, tapping my pencil idly against my notebook, the bell saving myself and my peers from the endless boredom that happened to be US Government. It wasn't as if I was surrounded by intelligent life, after all the only thing these idiots could talk about was the fact that an aspiring citizen had seen a moving truck thus sparking the excited rumors of a new pack of residents to join the community and the inevitable questions: _Do they have kids? Are they rich?_ The list goes on.

Of course, nobody ever thought to ask why _anyone_ would move here.

I was beginning to miss being on the run, after all we'd seen places that my peers had only dreamed of. It just made me wonder what would happen to this little town if Division came to call.

They had their hands full with the Chinese government, after information about the drug had been leaked along with the plan to create an army full of weaponized psychics, negotiations were being made in order to stop true psychic warfare from becoming a reality.

Cassie and I had gone to great stakes to blend into the background and become a forgotten entity amongst the many.

We were looked on as anomalies, sure, we could never truly become wallflowers since we were the two daughters of the town police chief, who had cropped up seemingly out of nowhere.

At first, people had been eager to get our story, find out where we had come from, why we had come back. We kept our mouths shut rather than feed them lies to shut them up, and eventually we were forgotten.

Charlie worried for us, knowing that years of evading the government had taken it's toll on both of us and prevented us from letting our guard down enough to make friends.

Charlie was by no means a social butterfly, and his stint with Division from years ago left him with a near insatiable thirst for peace while me and Cassie were beginning to get itchy feet.

The calm perturbed us, made us anxious and with the gnawing feeling that Division was planning something even while engaged in their mini-quasi-war with foreign governments.

My inner musings were interrupted by a pain in my left arm that sparked upwards into my shoulder. "Excuse you," I blurted, the words coming out with more of a bite than I intended and I found myself staring down a stranger.

A stranger with bright golden eyes, messy hair that suggested he'd never heard of a comb and preppy clothes. He didn't say anything, his eyebrows pulling together in a look of both confusion and intrigue when he looked at me, his lips in a tight thin line.

I slunk past him to get to English, feeling his eyes boring into my spine. I shivered a little walking down the hallway, the contact we'd made clinging to my skin. It was unpleasant, but mainly because he had been cold.

Cold and hard, like a corpse.

I was itching to get back to my sister, unable to shake the feeling of ants crawling underneath my skin, particularly in my shoulder. It never stopped aching and I just knew that it was bruised.

I plopped down next to my sister, at the niche in the corner, the only table that was sorta unoccupied in the whole cafeteria. She had already gotten her lunch and was digging into the half-decent macaroni and cheese.

I just bounced my apple from hand to hand, staring into the surface of the table. "Bella?" Cassie asked, "Why aren't you eating?"

"I am eating," I waved my apple at her and she gave me a disapproving frown, looking scarily like Charlie.

"Bella, an apple does _not_ count as lunch," she said.

"Cass, I'll go home and eat something later okay?" I told her, "I've got a lot on my mind."

"Like what?" she asked, I looked up when the noise level in the cafeteria dropped.

"Er...I'll tell you later," I mumbled. Cassie followed my gaze her grip tightening on the little plastic spork so much so that I feared she would snap it in half. I placed a hand over hers, attempting to get her to relax.

I wondered if she had had any visions concerning the new kids today or if they just irked her as much as they irked me. Especially Mr. I-Don't-Own-A-Freaking-Comb. "Cassie, calm down," I muttered, squeezing her wrist in mind in an attempt to get her to loosen her death grip on the utensil. Her eyes followed the kids across the cafeteria as they stepped into the lunch line.

"Just watch," she said out of the corner of her mouth. I saw the students lined up in front of them simultaneously _lean __away_ from the group of new kids, as if they were trying to get away from them without full out taking off in the opposite direction. Cassie stood up, abruptly letting go of the spork that had nearly suffocated in her grip and dumped her tray in the trash can. "Come on," she said, "I need help with my math homework."

"Library?" I asked.

"Unless you wanna sit on the wet benches," she replied. I felt eyes on my back and I resisted the urge to turn around and glare. The library was quiet, other than the sound of the librarian with her scanner, obviously cataloging books and the tutors from PACC giving kids advice on their homework or how to pass the state required exams.

Cassie dragged me to a table in between stacks at the back of the non-fiction section before rummaging in her bag muttering, "Where is it? Where is it?" with a small noise of discovery she pulled her sketchbook from the messy confines of her backpack.

Then of course she began to madly look through her drawings, looking at the one she stopped on with particular intensity. As soon as I saw the drawing, I nearly whacked Cassie over the head with the sketchpad.

I wanted to berate her for not telling me about this. If she had drawn them, that meant that the image had been clear enough, either that or she'd been seeing them repeatedly meaning that they were important. I tapped on the scarily accurate drawings, "Why have you kept this from me?" I asked.

"I wasn't sure if they were going to show up or not," Cassie said, "I thought it was just a freak thing you know?...I should have known better," she said in a small voice.

"Yeah, you should have, and keeping it from me? That shit ain't gonna fly," I said keeping my voice as quiet as possible, "You did it once and it almost got us killed. Keepin' me in the dark makes me do somethin' stupid which puts us both in danger." Cassie sighed at my words, obviously resigned that this was something I wasn't gonna let go.

"Once again Bella, you are the voice of reason," she said trying to placate me.

"We'll talk about this more when we get home," I said sternly, the bell rang, "I'm going to class."

"But what about my math homework?" Cassie whined.

"Sorry," I shrugged, sounding completely unrepentant. Cassie pouted and went in the opposite direction to her art class, it was the only higher level class that she had. I saw more of the new kids in my other classes and they all looked pretty stoic and no-nonsense.

The blonde female looked at me with malice in her golden eyes, giving me the up-down before deciding that I was obviously beneath her and giving me a perfect sneer that contorted her beautiful face.

Like many beautiful people, her character was pure ugliness. Hate, envy, hubris...I absorbed all of this with ease and turned my attention to the teacher.

History had always interested me, especially how the government kept such wraps under what really went on during World War II, what the Germans had been trying to do. I couldn't keep my focus for the rest of the day, something nagging me in the back of my mind.

My fingernails drummed a constant rhythm on the desk, as my anxiety skyrocketed and I immediately wondered if Cassie was alright. As twins we were already in tune, but so many years spent looking out for each other and keeping ourselves out of hot water had forged a bond between us that was damn near impervious. As soon as the bell rang I made for the art building, meeting Cassie halfway who looked white as a sheet. "Tell me," I demanded skipping any pleasantries. She shook her head.

"Not now," she replied lowly, "not here."

"Do me a favor," I said, "try not to have any meltdowns today like you almost did in the cafeteria."

"Try not to overreact," Cassie countered, "I know you almost provoked one of the new kids."

"I thought better of it," I said, "I know which battles to fight."

"That's why you're the smart one," Cassie smirked, "we should get to class. Charlie won't like it if we ditch again."

"Look, at the end of the day this shit is worthless. Not like they're gonna let us go to college, get married and actually have lives," I said cynically. Cassie rolled her eyes.

"Bella, why is it that you always have to be the rain on my parade?"

"One of us has to be the realist," I countered as the warning bell rang. "And if we don't get to theater Younan will fail us just because she thinks we're annoying." Theater Arts was the only class we had together, I took it because I needed the credit; Cassie thought it might be fun.

If the teacher wasn't a bitch who played favorites then the class would have been more enjoyable, she claimed that being the only teacher on campus with bright purple hair made her the most creative person in the goddamn world. In truth, the class bored me to tears but it was either this or performance dance.

By the time school let out I was in a terrible mood, and it showed in the way the locks all moved to zero when I walked past or how doors would stop as they were closing until I passed all the way by.

Cassie could tell that I was high strung and tried to calm me down once we both got into the little mini cooper that we shared. The drive home was spent in silence. "Hey, I'm thinking of trying out this new pasta dish," I said, "unless you want to order Chinese food like last week."

"Pasta sounds great," Cassie said distractedly, "Listen B, in art I had a vision."

"Tell me something new," I said flatly.

"It was about Nick," she added.

"Well that's new," I said.

"He's back in the States, somewhere down south near the beach," Cassie said, wringing her hands, obviously nervous about something.

"Oh gee, I wonder where that could be," I said sarcastically, letting my backpack drop to the floor, "and you're telling me this why?"

"Bella, what I saw...I need to tell him," Cassie said.

"Well, you have his phone number don'tcha? It is the twenty-first century, call him and-"

"In person," she emphasized.

"Charlie would rather shit a litter of puppies than let you run off on a school night," I told her.

"Not if you come with me," she said sounding hopeful.

"Cassie, traveling with you always creates drama," I deadpanned.

"Please, it's only a quick trip to Cali," Cassie begged, "We'll be there for two days at most."

"And what if Division suddenly decides that we're fair game once we leave Washington?" I said.

"We'll kick their asses," Cassie said enthusiastically. I just stared at her.

"Yeah, Charlie'll never go for it," I deadpanned, "not unless you Push him and I already know how you feel on that subject."

"Bella, I can't just sit here and do nothing!" Cassie cried.

"Well...you could sneak out and run off but Charlie would have your ass when you got back, nail you to the fuckin' floorboards he would."

"Stop exaggerating," Cassie scolded, "I think he'll understand."

"I feel the opposite," I snorted.

"Ugh! You're not helping!" Cassie exclaimed.

"I'm your more reasonable half," I said sweetly, "I'm _supposed_ to drive you nuts."

"You're doing a bang-up job," Cassie glared at me.

"Right back atcha, sis," I said, "Now, break out the sketchbook and start talkin'. _You've_ got some explaining to do."

* * *

**Nyx: Well...there's chapter six. Again, sorry it took me so long to update. You think taking a Creative Writing class would help me get better at evading writer's block...well, I'll tell ya: it doesn't do shit but give you pointless homework.**

**Puff: I like it! It always smells like poptarts in there! And the teacher has a funny accent.**

**Nyx: Zeus almighty...well, thoughts?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Nyx: Well, I've kept you waiting long enough. Best get this shindig over with. **

**Puff: My tummy hurts. **

**Nyx: I don't own Twilight or Push, yada yada yada, fun times. **

* * *

Chapter 7.

"I don't think they're normal," Cassie said, flopping into her zebra print floor chair. The walls of her room were covered in paintings, drawings and sketches that progressively got better the further you got around the room.

Cassie had art supplies scattered all over the place, pastels and paint pallets that she had earned herself by babysitting the little devils that lived next door. Her sketchbook was open to her latest drawing of the poor schmucks who had recently moved into town. "A freak experiment?" I asked.

"I don't think that's it," she replied, "there's something about them that rubs me the wrong way."

"If you ask me they shouldn't be rubbing you at all," I said, my hand going to my bruised shoulder.

"Really B?" Cassie said giving me a withering glare.

"What? I'm just telling you my thoughts on the matter," I said.

"If I could just talk to Nick," Cassie muttered.

"Fricken call him for God's sake! I'm not surprised Charlie said no. Hell, I'm starting to think you're the Mover and I'm the Watcher."

"Bella I'm being serious," Cassie said, "Nick might have a clue. I don't know how, but I do."

"That's helpful," I said, "you think they're in league with Division."

"I don't think they have anything to do with the government," Cassie negated, "maybe they're just weird." she sighed.

"'Just weird'," I repeated, "you don't repeatedly have visions about people who are 'just weird' Cassie. We'll hash out theories later, but for now I want you to see if you can catch some names. If you can't well...we'll wing it."

"Always the strategist," Cassie muttered.

"We're still alive aren't we?" I asked.

For the rest of the week we stayed out of the new kids' way and that meant finding a new place to eat lunch. After two weeks their novelty wore off some and our lives had become normal again. Although, with us, nothing would ever feel normal.

After all we were freaks of nature and I was starting to think the new kids were too. From time to time I'd catch Coppertop looking at me with this weird look on his face, and I considered telling Cassie about Ginger's staring problem.

I yawned widely as a dull ache began to throb in my temples gladly shoving my supplies in my bag and exiting the classroom. I'd gotten no sleep last night, choosing to stay up and do my homework rather than go to bed on time, wake up early and get absolutely nothing done.

Today was a Friday like any other Friday, my peers were chatting excitedly about this weekend's events, making plans to convene and fraternize and feed off each other's less than than stellar intelligence. The only person I'd even been relatively friendly with was the preacher's daughter, who was about as smart as I was but a bit too nice for my liking.

If there was anything I'd learned it was that nice people were not really nice people. Especially nice men.

I left my last morning class of the day and headed straight for Cassie's locker, who was just opening it as I arrived. "Bella, I really wish you'd stop pulling all-nighters," Cassie said.

"I can't help that I'm smart," I shrugged, "I don't like to procrastinate."

"If you say that any louder, people will know that we're not normal," Cassie half-joked.

"I wasn't aware that we were keeping it a secret," I retorted. Cassie slammed her locker shut.

"Come on, I'm starving," she said.

"It's Sloppy Joe day sis," I said, "I'm pretty sure you'll find your appetite satisfied real quick." Cassie didn't say anything. The new troupe had taken up residence at our old table and I raised an eyebrow at the way they were sitting.

None of them were eating from the trays they had in front of them, all of them staring off into different directions, not looking at each other. I swallowed my laughter and diverted my gaze away from the table of oddballs. Cassie had followed my gaze and snorted lowly, "And I thought we were the town weirdos," she said.

"They're so conspicuous it's hilarious," I half-laughed, "holy shit, we look _normal_ compared to them."

"Scary thought isn't it?" Cassie said and we both nearly burst into a fit of laughter. Cassie got her lunch while I settled for a salad and a bottled water, and I could feel several pairs of eyes boring holes into our backs while we left the cafeteria.

We ate lunch outside of the isolated library, in the hallway, since it was raining buckets out in the courtyard, and there wasn't a dry place to sit. Cassie showed me some artwork she was working on for the upcoming school play _Sleeping Beauty_. "Your talent is being wasted on that crowd of people that think they're misfits," I told her.

"It gives me something to do," Cassie shrugged, "we can't all be geniuses." she smirked at me, referring to my academic prowess and how I'd taught myself all of high school math in little over a month.

"There's different kinds of genius," I told her, "yours lies in art."

"You're just trying to make me feel better," Cassie replied.

"When have I ever said anything just to make you feel better?" I asked.

"Hmm...touché," Cassie replied. She changed her mind about throwing one of her French fries at me and ate it instead. "But thanks anyway."

"Chew with your mouth closed," I told her, stealing one of her fries. Cassie rolled her eyes and I finished off my pitiful salad. I was the first one to my next class, sitting down in my respective seat and resting my forehead on the desktop. Gradually, the room began to fill with chatter until the bell finally rang and our teacher Mr. Wooten called for order.

"Today, we're doing an exercise in essay writing," he said, handing back our graded essays from last week, "since, as a whole, we did less than exceptional on the last one." my paper had a clear eight marked in red at the top, further writing in red praising my written thesis.

"Most of you seem to have trouble not only properly incorporating your documents but analyzing them as well. So, each of you will be put with a partner," he picked up the seating chart and a stack of packets, "and you have until the end of the hour to construct a well put together thesis and essay." he rattled off names while he sent papers down the rows.

My nose scrunched up when I heard my name and the name of my partner, I tapped the blonde in front of me, Rachel Wilson, "Who's Jasper?" I asked. She pointed to the boy a couple of rows down, a boy that looked a bit too old to be in high school. Hell, he could pass for a sophomore in college.

He was already looking through the documents, "Grab your things and move to your partners," Mr. Wooten instructed, "and spread out!" I picked up my backpack and moved across the room to sit next to Jasper, setting my things down heavily and rummaging for a pencil.

We just sat there awkwardly for a few moments before I decided to bite the bullet and make the first move, "I'm Bella," I said. He looked up and gave me a once over.

"I know," he stated plainly.

"Well, we haven't officially met or whatever," I shrugged, "you have any experience with AP essays?" he smirked, like he was sharing an inside joke with himself. "Some," he said. The beginning of an odd partnership, we worked on our essay until the bell rang, handed it in and I nearly bolted to my next class.

I told Cassie about my working with one of the new kids in AP and she raised her eyebrows, pulling out her sketchbook and I showed her which one. "Ooh, you got to work with the hot one," Cassie said.

"Cassie, this is not the time to think with our hormones," I snapped, "I'm tellin' you, he put facts in the essay that weren't even in the textbook!"

"So? Maybe he's a history buff," Cassie shrugged.

"And for a moment, he was talking all old-fashioned, like he was from a different time or something," I said, "Jesus shit, they're strange."

"And pretty," Cassie added. I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, so damn pretty they can't even get a decent night's sleep," I said. They all had shadows under their eyes, slight purple discoloration that I'd only noticed 'cause I had to work with whats-his-face. At first I'd thought it was only him, until his twin sister hissed at me on the way out of the classroom and I noticed hers too. Gah, I wanted to go home.

"Quiet back there!" Younan snapped. We both turned to face the board and act like perfect little angels. I muttered a few choice insults in Mandarin, before picking up my pencil and pretending to take notes on the irrelevant crap this woman called drama.

By the time class let out, my mood was beginning to turn like old milk. For once, it wasn't raining when we got to the parking lot, but at that moment I almost wished it was, because the rain would have hidden us from the inquiring gazes of the oddball newbies. "Greenies at six o' clock," Cassie said.

"I'm well aware, my eyes are working just fine," I replied curtly, and giving the horny theater kids a run for their money, I held my fingers in a 'v' up to my lips and flicked my tongue. Copper Top looked scandalized while Steroids' loud laughter reached us from across the parking lot. I gave a wink and blew a kiss at Blondie #1 who rolled her eyes, tossed her hair and gave us her back. Cassie chuckled, "Bella, I love you."

"Feeling's mutual," I replied.

* * *

** Nyx: And thus concludes chapter 7. I'm having trouble coming up with a pairing. Any suggestions?**

**Puff: Make me waffles! **

**Nyx: Hush, I'm trying to encourage them to review! **

**Puff: You can do that _and_ make me waffles. **

**Nyx: Enough about the damn waffles, it's not my fault you don't know how to use an oven! Now, review? **


	8. Chapter 8

**Nyx: Well...it's been a while.**

**Puff: I'll say.**

**Nyx: Inspiration's hard to come by these days. Exams and shit coming up, I have a lot of stuff on my plate. But, I managed to pull some time out of my ass and write this for you guys. **

**Puff: Wonderful. **

**Nyx: So, blah blah blah, don't own, whatever. **

* * *

Chapter 8.

There were times where I wondered what happened to the infamous Patient Zero. Like during biology class when we were watching a boring movie on what mitosis really looked like and how many new cells could be created in ten minutes and whatnot.

I wondered if the scientists that worked for Division had gotten their ideas in an ordinary high school biology class. I idly tapped the desk with a fingernail waiting for the presentation to be over.

Whoever had the wise idea to put Biology before lunch was an absolute idiot. I had trouble staying awake in the damn class and I was passing it with an all encompassing A plus.

Lunch was uneventful save for the glances we got from a few of the Cullen bunch, the really short girl sent us a smile from across the cafeteria but I wasn't sure if it was a fake or not.

Walking out of the doors I stole a celery stick from Cassie's tray and dipped it in the little puddle of ranch dressing she'd gotten from the salad bar. "Stop stealing my food," Cassie complained, "go get your own."

"Sharing is caring, sister," I replied, snatching another celery stick and crunching it with gusto. I couldn't say the same for AP History though, despite that the hour started off as it usually did: with me face down on my desk and trying to ignore the chatter of my classmates and get in a few minutes of shut-eye. That is until I heard a deep chuckle and then, "You know, my siblings and I got a kick out of your display yesterday." I picked my head up and gave my classmate a withering glance.

"No offense...er, Jackson," I purposely gaffed his name not in the mood to deal with this kind of shit.

"Jasper," he corrected, his smirk telling me he knew that I was joshing him.

"Whatever," I replied, not missing a beat, "I don't give a damn if your siblings got off on it or were offended by it." he had his lips pressed together, obviously trying to hide a smile. I turned my attention away from his freakishly nice face towards Mr. Wooten who was a significantly uglier sight and trying his damnedest to turn on the projector, trying and failing to stand on the desk to reach the power button on the side.

I rolled my eyes and flicked my fingers in annoyance, in the process accidentally shaking the projector awake. I leaned my head on my hand and settled in for good forty minutes of boredom.

Jasper didn't talk to me for the rest of the hour and I was allowed to stew for a while. Every once in a while my vision would zone and I'd just watch my neighbor. I observed how peculiar he was, how still he sat.

He didn't fidget, shift his weight or blink like my peers did, which was disturbing. It was disturbing to see someone be so perfectly still, yet be fluid while being perfectly still.

I turned my attention back to the lesson in an effort to learn something and keep myself from being distracted by these observations. The new kids were weirder than we were, maybe more unique, maybe even more dangerous than we were.

I swallowed my curiosity, and attempted to focus. When the bell rang, he stood and packed his things, "I guess I'll be seeing you around Bella," he smirked, touching his fingers to an invisible brim and leaving with his siblings. His sister, obviously berating him as they left the classroom. Steroids gave me a wide grin and wiggled his fingers in a teasing sort of way, I flipped him off and set about to getting my shit together.

Cassie was right...he was no doubt the most attractive of the bunch, having that ruggedness about him and Lord knows I was more into bad boys than good little Christian boys. But I'd seen the ring on his finger, and despite all my abnormalities and shot morals, I didn't chase married men.

I made a stop by the girl's restroom to take a piss, catching my reflection in the mirror while washing my hands and observing that my blonde roots were coming through. I'd have to dye it again if we wanted the teachers to be able to tell us apart since they already got us mixed up enough even with the dye job.

A couple weeks ago, one of my teachers stopped Cassie in the hall and congratulated her for an outstanding grade on a paper I'd written. I rolled my eyes at the memory and grabbed a paper towel to dry off my hands, just as Blondie #1 walked in and set about to fixing the tiniest mistakes on her makeup that I couldn't see.

I threw my garbage in the bin and hitched my backpack over my shoulder, ignoring the little glances she was giving me in the mirror. I went to my next class, settling in for another hour of monotony, and trying to convince myself that I should be grateful that I was here...able to taste what they called 'normality'.

But for so long, the norm for me had been sleeping in shitty motel rooms, scrabbling for cash, dumpster diving and living day by day in an effort to survive. Trying to teach ourselves how to live without using our skills, so that in the case those skills were incapacitated, we wouldn't feel crippled.

Living in bumfuck nowhere, miles from the nearest airport, was a position I was starting to reconsider. Cassie spent all of last hour drawing, churning out three pages of doodles in the seventy-five minutes of class that we had, her fingers moving across the page with gusto.

Cassie didn't talk at dinner that night, drawing between bites and going up to her room when she finally finished. Charlie was quiet too, looking absolutely exhausted with all the extra hours he was pulling attempting to catch a ring of drug dealers that was causing a shitton of trouble in both PA and Seattle.

So as soon as he was done, he went straight to bed, telling us he had an early shift and wishing us sweet dreams. Cassie and I exchanged a brief look before she went back to drawing and eating, her hands smudged with color.

I cleaned up the dishes and settled in for an hour or two of homework and when I finally crawled into bed to get some sleep I could tell that Cassie was still awake. . . .

My fist lashed out, nearly catching Cassie in the throat. "Jeez, B! It's just me!" she hissed in the dark of my room. My head felt like it weighed a ton, turning it to look at the clock on my bedside table.

"Can't it wait?" I groaned, shifting my weight in an effort to go back to sleep.

"No!" the light clicked on and I hissed, burying my head under the bedclothes in an effort to block out the sudden harsh light.

"Dammit Cassie!" I growled, "you know how sensitive my eyes are!"

"Are you awake now?" Cassie pleaded.

"Fucking hell, what is it?" I sat up, blinking owlishly in an effort to get my eyes to adjust. The room was suspiciously bright like the synthetics in my DNA had activated in my shock.

"Look!" Cassie held up a drawing that had obviously been sketched in a hurry. The features looked familiar, obviously feminine, long dark hair and dark eyes standing out against a lightly tanned face, but the face was still too indistinct. "What is it?" I asked.

"Not a 'what', its a who," Cassie told me.

"And...?" I gestured for her to go on.

"Kira," Cassie said, "I haven't seen Kira in years, B."

"You think Little Miss Trouble is causing trouble? Again?" I asked.

"I don't know," Cassie shrugged, "we've been so out of the loop, lately, we don't even know if Hook or Emily are still alive."

"I doubt it," I muttered, Cassie ignored my cynical comment.

"I think she and Nick got separated," Cassie told me.

"So the dream couple broke up. Big deal," I said and my sister made a low noise.

"You're hopeless," she said.

"I'm tired," I corrected, "go get some sleep. Watcher stuff later 'kay?" I slid back beneath the covers and curled up on my side away from the light. Cassie sighed, "Goodnight B." I made an indistinct noise that might have been my response, but the light clicked off, my door was closed and I went back to sleep.

That night I had odd dreams, where Jasper from history class was dressed up as Theodore Roosevelt and charging mannequins stuffed with straw, yelling obscenities at the inanimate soldiers; Blondie #1,Tiny and Kira were dressed as flappers, smoking long cigarettes and discussing the pitfalls of my wardrobe and then I realized I was dressed in a poodle skirt; Steroids and Copper Top were dressed in zoot suits and sombreros, singing loud obnoxious songs.

I woke up feeling remarkably odd and decided to ream Cassie later for inspiring the fever dreams. Cassie didn't mention the vision or her drawings all day, though I could tell she was troubled by what she had seen last night.

As a Watcher, her visions weren't always clear and it was a rare occasion when the future changed in rapid-fire and yet retained such a level of obscurity that it gave her migraines.

I did not know if today would be one of those days, and I worried for her knowing that the future could, and would, get more gruesome. The sooner Division was finished negotiating with the Chinese, the sooner they'd come to call.

We'd begun to slack off in our gathering of intel, and I had to admit that I had let the quiet lull me into a state of semi-peace. We still looked over our shoulders whenever we set foot outside of our house, and I retained a paranoid ability to remember faces but we had taken full stock in the saying 'ignorance is bliss'.

Now I had a feeling, and while Cassie was the Watcher and used what she saw, I used my gut. "Thinking pretty hard there sunshine," Cassie said, interrupting my train of thought.

"One of us has to," I replied and Cassie swatted me on the shoulder, playing at offense.

"Whatcha thinkin' about?" she asked.

"Lots of things," I answered, "like Division."

"You think we've gotten too comfortable here," Cassie told me, reading more into what I wasn't saying.

"Of course," I said, "we've slacked too much, we've gotten lazy. I'm not as good a shot as I was three years ago."

"Neither am I," Cassie replied.

"You're different," I told her, "you've always been a bad shot." Cassie rolled her eyes but didn't argue since I was telling the truth.

"So what do you think we should do?" Cassie finally asked after staring out the window, "Wait it out?"

"Waiting it out has its risks. Eventually you'll see something and it'll be too late to make any preparations," I said.

"Not if I search everyday," Cassie said, "if I keep looking maybe something will come up."

"You're stronger than you were three years ago, but not as strong as mom," I told her.

"I wish we knew were mom was," Cassie muttered, "maybe if we found her, we'd feel better."

"Moving from place to place and looking over our shoulders? No," I shook my head, turning when the light changed, "that wouldn't make us feel better, we'd be back where we started. We need a better plan."

"You don't think mom's alive," Cassie said softly. I didn't say anything. If mom really had been alive she'd have left us a sign, or tried to contact us, especially if she'd been released from Division. But it was likely that Carver had left orders in case of his death, knowing that having one of the most powerful Watchers on the loose and not under government control was detrimental.

The only word we'd had of her since she left us to fend for ourselves was from the Stitch back in Hong Kong. Lord knows where she was now and I'd already started to give up the hope of our mom coming back to us. I put the car in park and reached for my bag, and Cassie did the same, not saying a word. But the message was clear: we'll talk later.

"Incoming," Cassie muttered, reaching for the textbook she'd shoved underneath the seat. Tiny and Copper Top approached, the former with a big sparkling smile and the latter with a frown. "Can we help you?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hi," Tiny sang, her voice like wind-chimes, "I'm Alice and this is Edward."

"Er...nice to meet you?" I asked. Cassie wriggled out of the car, holding up her math book triumphantly. She looked at the newcomers and raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. It was hilariously apparent the contrast between the two; Tiny, or Alice, as she called herself, couldn't have been more than four feet ten inches tall, she had a small face offset with huge eyes, a little nose and a dainty mouth, inky black hair choppily cut in a way that suited her little face. Copper Top was probably six feet tall, looked like he'd had a bad night between the sheets and hadn't bothered to find a brush or some hair gel afterwards. "Well, I'm Bella, and my sister Cassie," I gestured between us.

"Nice to meet you," Alice sang, "would you like to sit with us, at lunch?" Cassie and I stared at them, the tiniest bit suspicious. But, since we were curious about the new kids anyway, what better way, strategically, to get close to them?

"Er...sure," I said, "we'll join you." Alice beamed just as the bell rang.

"See you then, come on Edward," she dragged Edward behind her, making for an hilariously awkward picture as the tiny girl hefted along the tall boy. Cassie and I exchanged a look before rolling our eyes in tandem and parting ways.

* * *

**Nyx: Eh...a filler at best. Not that awesome. **

**Puff: You think I need another manicure?**

**Nyx: Puff, manicures are for people with hands. **

**Puff: I have hands.**

**Nyx: You have talons. But then again, I could do with getting banned from another spa. Tell me what you think, readers. Any suggested sources of inspiration?**


	9. Chapter 9

**Nyx: Hi.**

**Puff: Hello.**

**Nyx: Chapter Nine! I don't own Push or Twilight, blah blah blah. Happy reading!**

* * *

Chapter 9.

Cassie was already by my locker by the time I'd gotten out of Biology, "Did you ditch?" I asked.

"No, I had to go to the bathroom and since it was the last seven minutes of class there was no point going back," Cassie replied. I shoved the unnecessary things in my locker and pulled out the books I needed for my classes after lunch, my heaviest textbooks being AP Calculus and AP U.S.; Cassie, as usual, made a face at the textbooks. "I don't know how you can stand all the extra work," she complained.

"That's because you're lazy," I told her, "and you're more into pastels and pencils than battles and cosines." Cassie nodded her agreement while I set to closing my locker. "Hey, what do you think about Alfredo for dinner?"

"Delicious," Cassie replied, "can you make it with mushrooms this time?"

"If I can find any," I answered.

The newbies were sitting at their usual table, the place where we used to in the farthest corner of the cafeteria. Alice turned around and waved at us, having already gotten her lunch. I grimaced back and Cassie held up her hand in an awkward imitation of a wave. "Tell me you're as suspicious as I am," she muttered in my ear.

"Already there," I whispered back. I paid for a salad and a popcorn chicken bowl thing and waited for Cassie to grab a tray of the grease-pot pizza before walking with her back to our old table.

It took a little less than ten minutes for everyone to notice just who we were sitting with and the noise-level rose. "Everyone, this is Bella and Cassie," Alice gestured to the both of us, "Bella, Cassie this is Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper. You've already met Edward."

"Charmed," we drawled in tandem. We had our 'Tweedle' moments, and once in a while I'd dye my hair back to blonde and we'd confuse the crap out of people. It was rare that people ever spotted our differences, like Cassie's lips were fuller and she had thicker eyebrows, my nose was the tiniest bit bigger and I had a scar on my neck underneath my ear. But we had the same blue eyes, the same cheekbones and the same height. "But I've already met Jasper," I said.

"And I've already met Bella," he smirked. I was under the impression that he was flirting with me, but it didn't detract that his arm was around Alice and there was a wedding band on his finger.

I didn't return his smirk, wordlessly pulling my lunch closer to me and spooning a bite into my mouth. "Where did you guys meet?" Alice asked, looking up at her beau.

"History," he replied, "we had to work on an essay together."

"Is that what the kids are calling it these days?" Steroids grinned and Jasper threw his brother a withering look, silently telling him to go to hell. I ignored him, taking another bite before sighing, "Well...this is awkward."

"I'll say," Cassie agreed, doodling on one of the napkins.

"So...where are you guys from?" Alice asked, attempting small talk.

I kept my face impassive when I answered, "Here."

"Lovely place, Washington," Cassie drawled not looking up from her drawing. Blondie #1 chose to speak up then, obviously tired of the shitty attempts to make small talk, "Alright, look. I don't know why you're here, or why we're even interacting with you but this is just bullshit," she proclaimed.

"They're here because I invited them," Alice supplied calmly, "they're going to be our friends." I noticed she referred to the future tense, as if we were planning on sticking around...like she was a Watcher.

Cassie obviously thought the same thing because we looked at each other, silently communicating the implications of what that sentence might mean exactly. "That's a lot of presumption coming from such a tiny person," I mused.

"We don't even know you," Cassie added.

"So you'll get to know us," Alice chimed, "we'll hang out, go shopping, watch movies."

"And have sleepovers and braid each others hair?" I deadpanned. Alice beamed, nearly blinding us with her mega-watt smile.

"Exactly!"

"Listen, Tiny, in case you haven't noticed we're the outcasts at this school. 'Hanging out' with our peers just isn't a thing we do," I said.

"It is now," Alice smiled, Cassie and I exchanged a look and observed the faces of her siblings.

"Resistance is futile," Emmett stage-whispered to us from across the table. We were not amused.

"Fine, you wanna hang out with us, you do it on our terms," I said settling in for a haggle. Alice raised her eyebrows and all of them looked taken aback. "First order of business: shopping," I stated. Alice's back straightened and she looked eager; for a tiny little demanding person she was awfully open to compromise.

"We don't do shopping," Cassie said. Alice's face fell and her jaw went slack.

"Everybody loves shopping," she said.

"Not us," we replied, shaking our heads. Nothing came of going to large shopping centers for us save for getting our asses kicked. There were so many cameras and shit inside a mall that the whole thing was like a steel trap. Even going inside to use the damn bathroom didn't cut it, there were always agents on our ass within minutes. So, we stuck to podunk shops and the Internet.

"Movies? That we can do," I said.

"The sleepover bullshit is another negative," Cassie added. The streets had gotten rid of any girly-girl tendencies like primping and shit. Traveling light and comfortable was ingrained in us, besides, you can't run in heels.

Alice looked like she was about to cry, but since we're heartless people we didn't care. Us? Feel bad? Not likely. "Looks like you finally met your match Alice," Emmett chuckled, again one of the only people at this table with a sense of humor.

Alice stuck her tongue out at him before giving us her attention again, "Is there anything you like to do?" she asked. I almost said 'Shooting government agents' but she probably would have looked at me funny.

"I like to paint," Cassie shrugged.

"Video games," I shrugged.

"Yes! A new partner!" Emmett reached across his girlfriend to high five me and I just stared at his hand. "Come on," he pleaded, "don't leave me hangin'." I rolled my eyes and returned it, his hand just as cold and hard as his brother's shoulder.

He fist pumped and his girlfriend sulked, her perfect arms crossed over her magnanimously perfect chest. Alice smiled.

_**x-x-x**_

"That was fucking weird," Cassie said, while parted ways from the Cullen weirdos. "And what was Blondie's problem?"

"I don't know," I said honestly, "first day of class she looked at me like I was the most disgusting thing she'd ever seen."

"She needs an attitude check," Cassie said, a steel edge to her voice, "Maybe I'll do it for her."

"I don't think it's necessary to mindfuck the girl, alright?" I said, "Ignore her like we do the rest of her kind."

"Noted," Cassie nodded, "see you later."

"Try not to stab anybody with a paintbrush," I half-joked. History was uneventful, save for Emmett getting detention because he kept trying to get my attention during class. Jasper sat and laughed at his antics.

Walking down the halls got me a lot of stares and whispers, no doubt Cassie was receiving the same treatment, and I prayed that this madness would be over quickly.

But the day was quiet...that is, until drama. When one of our classmates sat near us and asked us, "Which one are you after?"

"Excuse me?" Cassie and I blurted in tandem.

"Which. One. Are. You. After?" she repeated as if we were the half-wits and she the genius.

Cassie and I exchanged a look, "What is this 'one' you speak of?" I asked, though I had a good suspicion she was talking about...

"You know, the Cullen boys? I mean, I personally, would love a romp with Emmett. I got a thing for muscled guys you know?"

"First of all, Emmett has a girlfriend," I said, purposely not mentioning the wedding band I'd spotted on his finger.

"And so does Jasper," Cassie added.

"So?" she shrugged. "Does that mean Edward's your-"

"Edward's too much of a pretty boy," I interrupted, "and besides, even a blind man would see that neither of us are in the slightest bit interested in any of them."

"Now go, shoo, on your merry way with you," Cassie said, and the girl, promptly stood and walked away.

Cassie and I exchanged a look, "That, was a dangerous thing to do." I commented.

"She wouldn't have shut up, and then she would have spread rumors," Cassie said, "I just saved us some grief."

"If anyone asks me the same damn question tomorrow I'm committing mass murder," I muttered.

"Hear hear," Cassie replied.

* * *

**Nyx: First real interaction with the Cullen clan and the aftermath of said interaction. Thoughts?**

**Puff: Too short.**

**Nyx: This shirt or the chapter?**

**Puff: Both. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Nyx: Hello all...I'm hiding right now. **

**Puff: *crawls into her hiding place* Why are we underneath the bed?**

**Nyx: My mom wants to take me to the spa! Every time she takes me there some little Asian lady attacks me with a pair of tweezers and a bowl of hot wax! I ain't going back there I tell you!**

**Puff: I like how it smells in there...like wontons and nail polish remover. **

**Nyx: Um...ew? Change of subject! I don't own anything you may recognize, blah blah blah, read on. **

* * *

Chapter 10.

Cassie held up a sketch of the Cullen house, "Just like I saw it," she said glancing between the drawing and the actual house. She'd gotten everything, down to the last shrub. Our tiny used cooper looked out of place in front of the obviously expensive mansion.

It was a mish-mash of styles, this thing actually had Gothic towers, paired with Victorian style columns with an Antebellum porch. I concluded that the architect was either high or eccentric, maybe both. "These people are loaded," I commented.

"Well, their dad is a doctor," Cassie said, "I bet they all have trust funds."

"Maybe they kidnap rich people and hold them for ransom in their Dungeon of Doom," I said melodramatically making a wiggling motion with my fingers and putting on a ridiculously accurate Dracula accent.

Cassie stifled her laughter and shook her head, putting her sketchbook back inside her messenger bag. "Lets see how the beautiful people live, shall we?" she asked offering her elbow and I took it.

Alice didn't take very long to answer the door, looking immaculate like she was going to a high-end cocktail party rather than just having classmates over. "Hi!" she sang, pulling us both into hugs. We tensed at the surprise contact, unused to being touched by other people, but Alice didn't seem to notice, taking her sweet time before pulling back and giving us a wide smile with all her teeth that kind of creeped me out.

She hurried us inside, chattering all the while, "So, Carlisle and Esme, our parents, are at a conference until next Monday, and then you can meet them. They're really nice. I think you'll like them!" she sang, clapping her hands. Cassie and I exchanged a look, since the people we met that seemed nice weren't really nice.

I was struck dumb by the fact that there were such a set of parents that trusted their teenage kids enough (four of which were couples) to stay home by themselves and not royally fuck shit up.

"You guys can help me redecorate my room and then we can repaint the guest bedroom and make fingerpaintings-"

"Alice, no monopolizing them both. I get the cool twin," Emmett said coming down the stairs and putting his arm around my shoulders. I shrugged off his arm, the coolness of his touch giving me the shivers.

Emmett brushed it off, still smiling, "Not that you're not cool Cassie," he said to my sister. Cassie just waved him off and rolled her eyes. Emmett practically picked me up and carried me to where he kept his game consoles, too excited to let me use my legs.

The first thing I learned was that Emmett was a sore loser. I'd beaten him twice at Mario Kart, and managed to get more kills playing Halo in the past hour. On the last round, Emmett had gotten so mad he'd snapped his controller in half. He shrugged it off and tossed it aside, saying 'We have extras'.

Cassie and I exchanged a look, her canvas half finished on her lap. And there was no doubt in my mind that if me and my sister weren't here, making nice and playing docile, Emmett would have been upstairs banging his wife (yeah, we totally noticed his wedding ring). Edward was the easily the strangest one in the house, stalking across the living room floor while giving us the stink eye before disappearing into the kitchen.

He'd done it twice since we'd been here, just to grab a couple bottles of water. Alice and Rosalie were designing an entirely new wardrobe, Alice confiding her sketches to Cassie while my sister pointed out the flaws in the proportioning of the bodies drawn. Each time, Alice was more flabbergasted as if she couldn't believe she had made a mistake.

Eventually Jasper came down to observe the games Emmett and I played, Emmett getting more increasingly competitive and I beat him with ease. Our game playing came to a halt when Rosalie called him into the garage to help her with a project and he answered her call eagerly, promising me that we'd pick up later. Cassie sketched out a design for the walls for one of the Cullen's many guest rooms.

We'd been left to their own devices in the mansion, like we were their siblings rather than strangers from a school they'd just transferred into. I found it kind of irksome, but I went in search of a good book to read nonetheless. There were three doors in one long hallway, and I was tempted to try them all if it weren't for my respect for their privacy. I wouldn't want anyone peeking in my room, Cassie felt the same way and so we respected each other's space, after years of sharing it.

One door had been left open a tad, and I Moved it slightly so I could peer into the room. "You can come in," Jasper said from inside, but I didn't dare set foot over the threshold. The room was pretty big, shelves upon shelves of books covered the walls and even blocked out the incoming sunlight from the wall of glass that overlooked the forest. "Am I disturbing you?" I asked.

"No, not at all," he said setting the book he was reading aside, "I've read this one at least ten times already. You looking for something?"

"A good book to read," I told him, "your brother's joined his girlfriend in their garage to 'work on a project'," I put in finger quotes, "probably just a euphemism for 'get it on'." Jasper chuckled.

"Indeed," he said, pushing out of the plushy chair he'd been sitting in. His bed was neatly made in the middle of the room, all dark blues and slate grays. It looked immaculate, like he hadn't laid in it for days. Either that or he was OCD.

"You like Civil War books?" he asked, and I turned my attention to him and away from his bed, though looking at him just got me thinking some inappropriate thoughts about the bed before I squashed them.

I kept my face blank though, "I'm more of a World War kind of gal," I smirked at the morbid inside joke.

"I don't have many on those," he mused, perusing his shelves, I noticed that he kept some Civil War memorabilia on his walls, a Confederate flag next to a Union one, neatly folded, their stars displayed. An old fashioned musket, mounted on the wall and beneath that a rifle, under the rifle was a nineteenth century pistol, like you'd see in the movies except this one was aged.

"I have _Catch-22_," he said.

"Already read it," I told him.

"_Night_?" he asked.

"Depressing," I said.

"_The Reader_?"

"Read it and saw the movie. Both good, bit depressing."

"_Every Man Dies Alone_?" he asked, "I've only read this one once."

"I haven't," I said, "I'll take it. How soon do you want it back?"

"When you're finished with it," he said, "if you're as much a bookworm as I think you are, you'll be done in no time."

"Challenge accepted," I said, taking the book and leaving without another word. I felt his eyes boring into my back and his chuckles followed me down the hall. Cassie hadn't moved from her spot on the couch, but her fingers were smudged with charcoal.

"Found a book?" she asked.

"Yeah," I told her, "hows the canvas coming along?"

"It's fine," she replied, "awful quiet around here isn't it?"

"These people are incredibly odd," I added, "leaving two complete strangers to their own devices in their house."

"Yeah, what if we were kleptos or something?" she said with false innocence and I resisted a snort, considering we'd had our days, especially when it came to little things like new shoes.

Then Edward slunk past, his spine rigid and his eyes continually glancing at me making him look like he was having a spazz attack while walking. I made a face at him and he disappeared into the kitchen, I heard a couple of cabinets open and close, then the hum of the fridge before he slunk past us again and up the stairs, and I watched him go more than a little disturbed and kind of amused. Cassie and I exchanged a look and looked away lest we burst into uncontrollable laughter. It was the third time he'd done it, each time getting more and more ridiculous.

I opened my book to the first page and she bent over her sketch but we started snickering anyway, both of us shaking with the effort to contain ourselves. Then Emmett came back in, all aglow with happiness and such catching us snickering on the couch. "What're we laughing about?" I forced my face to sober and looked him dead in the eye.

"We're plotting your demise," I said with a straight-face and Emmett raised an eyebrow.

"I'm pretty hard to kill," he said.

"We'll be sure to cremate your entrails when we're finished," I said, "what color urn would you like?"

"Er...purple?" he asked, his eyebrows scrunching.

"Blue it is then," I nodded and Cassie buried her face in my shoulder to stifle her laughter. My crappy little phone's alarm went off, reminding me that we had to get home so I could prepare dinner for Charlie.

Emmett of course, whined and pouted that we were leaving, then invited me back here so I could play videogames and asked Cassie to play next time too. She shrugged but didn't make any commitments and Emmett practically burst with excitement. Pulling us both into crushing hugs. "Er...Emmett," I gasped when I felt my ribs compress, "can't...breathe." he released us abruptly.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly.

"Take it easy with the hugs big guy," Cassie said rubbing her ribs and grimacing, "we're breakable you know."

"You guys aren't that breakable," Emmett scoffed, then looked around before leaning in conspiratorially, "sorry for our rudeness by the way."

"I didn't expect you to stick around for long anyway, not with your significant other in the other room and getting you all hot and bothered," I shrugged and Emmett ducked his head as if he were blushing, but none of the tell-tale signs of flushing were there.

But he didn't hide his grin and the dreamy look he got on his face probably having a very pleasant flashback right in front of us. "Er...see you guys in school," I said shoving Cassie out the door when it got awkward.

"I wonder if he does that often," Cassie said, rubbing her ribs.

"The day dreaming or the hugs?" I asked.

"Both," Cassie said with a wide-eyed look. I climbed into the front seat of the car, putting it into gear before pulling away from the oddly graceful looking house. "They really are a strange family," she said after awhile.

"Naaah, you think?" I said.

"I'm serious," Cassie said, "what kind of person invites people over then ignores them?"

"Alice, apparently," I said, "something is seriously wrong with that kid. I swear to Olympus above, she smiles at me like that one more time and I'm taking a few of her teeth."

"Yeah, haven't you noticed how they move? Like they're all ballerinas in their spare time, I mean, even Emmett moves like that. Kinda disturbing," Cassie said, "not to mention they're all freaking beautiful. It's kinda inhuman."

"Maybe they're mutants," I shrugged, "experiments to see if beauty's genetic or some shit." I snickered and Cassie rolled her eyes.

"And they're all adopted," she murmured flipping through her sketchbook, "yet they have the same complexion, same eye-color..."

"We'll talk more about it later," I said, "right now, we gotta take care of Charlie."

_**x-x-x**_

Dinner was relatively quiet and Charlie had obviously had had a trying day at work. "So, um, Charlie," I started off ineloquently.

"Hmm?" he asked, his eyes bleary and it was obvious that as soon as he was finished eating he was going straight to bed.

"We...hung out with some people from school today," I said attempting to smile and Cassie shoved a particularly big bite of food into her mouth. Charlie smiled, "Good, that's good that you're finally making friends." he returned to his food and my sister and I exchanged a look, and the rest of dinner was spent in an awkward silence.

Charlie rinsed his plate when he was finished, telling me "Dinner was good, Bells," and rubbing me on the head before staggering up the stairs. We watched him go, both of us with concern. As soon as we heard his bedroom door close Cassie spoke, "He's been running himself ragged," she said.

"I hope that little tidbit cheered him up," I said, "he's been really depressed lately."

"He's starting to lose faith," Cassie said sadly, "you know that we haven't had word from mom in so long, and he's worried about us."

"We're 'making friends' now," I said putting up finger quotes, "that should ease at least a little of his troubles. Means we're settling in."

"You know he won't believe that," Cassie said shaking her head and pushing the rest of her food around her plate, "he's afraid of losing us."

"We can't stay here forever," I murmured, "he has to get used to that."

"Still...it breaks my heart," she said softly she swallowed and pushed her plate away, "I think I'm done," she said. "You?" my appetite had vanished and I handed her my plate.

"I'm gonna finish my homework," I muttered pushing back from the table and heading upstairs. When I reached my room I remember that I had finished my homework yesterday and I had nothing to do but sit around.

I could probably do some chores, but Charlie was sound asleep in his room. It was only seven thirty and I had nothing else better to do. I pulled the book I'd borrowed from Jasper's library and opened the book to the first page. _"The postwoman Eva Kluge slowly climbs the steps of the 55 Jablonsky Strasse..."_

* * *

**Nyx: Well...that's that. All I got for now. Until next time dearests!**

**Puff: Nyx! I turned my talons pink by accident! *puts his claws in her face* FIX IT!**

**Nyx: Uh...can I talk to the readers first-?**

**Puff: *looks at readers* REVIEW! *looks back at her* Now can you fix it?**


	11. Chapter 11

**Nyx: Did you know that I read about an author here on FFN, who has ten stories up at once? Now I don't know about you, but that kind of multitasking would drive me absolutely nuts. Like loony bin/straitjacket nuts. **

**Puff: You're already nuts. Nuttier than squirrel shit. **

**Nyx: Thanks for that, Puff. Really. So, if I did own Push or Twilight, hell if I had had a starring role in Push I wouldn't be doing this. And if I could get paid for writing fanfiction? That would be a dream come true. But unfortunately that's not in the cards. Happy reading, all!**

* * *

Chapter 11.

Cassie looked like hell, her eyes red and slightly puffy, her face pale and her blonde hair was sticking to her sweaty skin. "I'm staying home with you today," I told her.

"No," she said, so hoarsely that her voice was a whisper, "I know how much you hate missing school-"

"Have you seen my GPA? I can catch up no problemo. _You_ are my top priority," I said, feeling her forehead and cheeks. Her skin felt cold, and undeniably clammy. "I think I understand now why mom used to drink," Cassie half-laughed, though there was no mirth in it. Renee used to drink heavily while dragging us all over the country. She'd do odd jobs to earn the money for the booze, it didn't matter what.

We'd never been in school for more than several months at a time in those days, and one day we just stopped going after realizing Division could track us through school records. We had had to educate ourselves, the library becoming my second home and Cassie was all I really had. It didn't come as a surprise when mom left us behind, assuring us that it was all for our own good, and we had been angry with her for a long time until we realized that if she hadn't left us our future would have been drastically different, so much so that we would have ended up in the same place as her.

Cassie was a second-generation Watcher, but as she got older she began to get visions that were longer and far more detailed, and they got more frequent. But it took a nasty toll on her, usually coming to her at night in her sleep and holding her under for at least four hours. I was there as an anchor to the present, and every time I elected to stay home with her after these fits she protested, and the argument was a long dead one.

She didn't look so bad as she did the last time; the first one she'd had, had been within the first six months of our stay and had scared the ever-loving shit out of me when I woke the next morning to find my sister curled up in bed with a high fever, the chills, shakes and eyes so bloodshot there was not a trace of white. With each episode, the symptoms gradually got better, and now, her eyes weren't as bloodshot and she didn't get the chills any more but the fever was still high. "I'll make you some soup," I said, "and maybe some chamomile tea to help you sleep."

"You're too good to me," Cassie half-joked, her eyes closed and her breathing shallow.

"I'm just doing my job," I shrugged, wiping her face with a cool towel, she sighed and then her breathing evened out as she fell asleep. I rubbed my forehead, attempting to dispel the memories.

Same shit, different scenario.

Despite what Cassie liked to believe, we were still on the run. Forks wasn't our home it was our hiding place and sooner or later, we'd have to move on just like we did with the others. I got off the bed, the mattress creaking as my weight disappeared but Cassie remained in dream-land. I traipsed downstairs and started on the soup, chopping up vegetables and whatnot to add nutritional value.

I left it to sit and set about cleaning out the fridge to make room. Charlie's beer was moved to the bottom shelf and towards the back, he only drank a bottle or can as a treat now and then, and ever since we'd told him about Renee's drinking problem the alcohol had been sitting in the fridge, untouched. I was half tempted to throw it out but I wasn't sure about Charlie's thoughts on the matter.

When we'd first moved in it took a little while to warm-up to the thought of living in the same house, Charlie hadn't given it much thought when he asked us to stay. Truth be told, we weren't thinking either when we accepted. After so many years of running we were tired and now we had to deal with a whole other level with weird named Cullen, plus the feeling that something was mounting on the horizon left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

I fished for a pudding cup, peeling back the foil that covered it and fetched a spoon, shoveling spoonfuls of creamy chocolatey goodness into my mouth. The soup would take another couple of hours to cook, so I ended up cracking open a can of chicken noodle soup, putting the bowl of processed broth in the microwave and bringing it up to Cassie.

She was laying on her side with her mouth wide open, a little bit of drool dribbling out the side of her mouth. I rolled my eyes and shook her awake, not giving her a chance to chew me out for disturbing her nap by shoving spoonful after spoonful of soup into her mouth. She managed to finish off the bowl before scooting back under the covers and promptly going back to sleep.

I sighed and shook my head, taking the bowl back downstairs and settling in in front of the television until the soup was finished. Charlie called a few times to check on Cassie, and I told him that she was fine. Tired but fine. I zoned out while watching some random soap opera, uncaring about whether or not whats-his-face was really cheating on Melissa with the maid and whether Melissa was having a baby by someone else.

I got up once to turn off the stove before settling back in front of the TV and immediately feeling my eyes cross at the stupidity of the characters onscreen. I ended up dozing off this time, the dialogue from the television taking some part in my dreams but ended up being remixed with strange visuals.

I startled awake when the doorbell rang, glancing wearily at the cable box for the time and seeing that I had slept for hours. I stumbled off the couch and padded to the front door, ignoring the cold of the wooden floor on my bare toes. Jasper was standing on my doorstep a small stack of papers in his hand. "Let me guess, you're here to drop off my homework?" I said yawning.

"Not just yours," Jasper said, scanning me up and down, no doubt observing my attire, his lip twitching with the barest hint of a smile.

"Put it on the table," I yawned again stepping aside to let him in, my attention diverted when a honk came from the car and Alice was waving enthusiastically from the passenger seat, so much so I thought her arm was gonna come flying off. Edward was hunched over in the front seat staring out the windshield with a sour look on his face. I raised my hand in a tentative wave and looked at Jasper who was observing what little of the house he could see by his spot by the table. "Cozy," he muttered.

"You wanna cookie as a thank you?" I asked, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

"Er...no," he smiled, "I appreciate the offer. But, uh, Alice wanted me to ask you if you guys wanted to come over again sometime."

"Alice, huh?" I deadpanned and he shrugged. "We'll think about it, maybe after Cassie gets better 'kay?" I ushered him out the door, getting a little too eager when I Moved the door shut rather than pushing it closed.

Cassie would shit when she found out that Jasper had seen me in my Scooby-Doo pajamas. She thought we would make a good couple while I begged to differ.

Sure, Jasper was hot and all, but I was some sort of freak of nature with the government on my ass and he was...probably a bigger freak of nature with a kinda normal life. Even though his family did a shit job at blending in.

I mean, when you're that pretty and give off those kind of vibes, you attract some kind of attention.

We couldn't afford to develop any relationships, Charlie was the exception with him having given life to us and all that jazz, having a large circle of friends or getting involved romantically with other people would place them at risk. That and it would leave a trail. Which was why I didn't think that spending anymore time with the Cullens was a good idea.

True, we could use their resources, seeing as they had money and they would be a good asset and ally to have when we were in deep shit, but again, getting tied up led to complications. I filled up the tea kettle and set it on the stove, pulling the honey from its hiding place to sweeten the chamomile. I carried the steaming mug up the stairs to Cassie's room, noticing the little frown that had taken up residence on her face while she slept and I shook her awake, helping her sit up against the headboard and handing her the cup. "Careful," I told her, sitting next to her on the bed. She took a tentative sip, smacking her lips, "Just right," she said, before taking another sip.

"Cass?" I asked, "Do you think we should keep hanging out with the Cullens?"

"It would make Charlie happy," Cassie said, "besides, we might need friends like them in the future." _And you know all about the future_, I thought and sighed.

"What if they ask questions?"

"What if they do?" Cassie shrugged, "Once we're for certain we can trust them, we'll tell them the truth. If not, we'll feed them some bullshit story or hedge around it. No biggie."

"You make it sound so easy," I muttered. "Jasper dropped off our homework."

"That was nice of him," Cassie said, then she noticed I was still in my pajamas, "Bella, you didn't greet him at the door in your Pjs did you?"

"I sure as hell did," I nodded with a proud grin. She rolled her eyes. "You're incorrigible by the way," I muttered, "thinking we should date."

"He likes you," Cassie said, "I know he does."

"Well he can admire from afar, 'cause I'm not going near that with a ten foot pole," I said.

"Maybe a nine foot pole?" Cassie asked hopefully.

"Nine and a half," I allowed and Cassie scoffed, taking another sip of her tea. "He's married Cass. Besides, relationships are a no-no for us. Dangerous, uncomfortable things."

"You don't know that," Cassie said, "not for sure."

"I know the consequences," I retorted, "unless you've Seen different I'm not taking any chances."

"Things might change," Cassie said softly, "you never know."

"Doesn't mean they will," I told her, "finish your tea, rest up for tomorrow." I headed downstairs to fix myself a bowl of soup for lunch, sipping on the broth and mentally giving myself a pat on the back for managing to make it edible. I went back into the living room to watch TV, setting onto the cushions with my bowl and thanking the heavens that the soap operas were over, but I changed it seeing as a talk-show had come on, discussing first-world issues and what not.

I was perfectly content to watch cartoons until my eyes bled, as long as I didn't have to hear drivel about how texting and driving was becoming a huge problem. If only there was a such a thing as too much common sense, then we wouldn't have such problems.

I remembered that I had left our homework on the table, and started to move before I decided that I simply didn't want to take it upstairs. Hell, I didn't even want to touch it. It might have Jasper's cooties all over it and if I got his cooties I might actually start to like the guy more than I really wanted to. _Cooties? Really? You're not in second grade anymore, Bella._

I sighed and spent another twenty minutes watching cartoons and eating soup, before I finally decided to bite the bullet and get started on it. I cut off the TV, put my bowl in the sink and picked up the papers. Holding them on my flat upturned palm and caused the stack to levitate. I Moved the top half of the stack into Cassie's room, hearing her squeak when I let the papers drop who knows where.

"That's yours," I yelled down the hall and I could practically hear her rolling her eyes. I looked over the assignments I had, letting out a sigh and looking at the clock. _If I put my nose to the grind I could probably churn out all of it by eleven_, I thought. I sighed and climbed onto my bed, reaching for my pencil and pulled my notebook towards me. _Nose to the grind._

* * *

**Nyx: That's Chapter 11. Thoughts?**

**Puff: Do I have any fur stuck in my teeth?**

**Nyx: I'm not going anywhere near your mouth, not after what happened last time. It took weeks for my eyebrows to grow back in. **

**Puff: Yeah...that was not a good look for you. **

**Nyx: We're not getting into this discussion now. I'm assuming you've already read the chapter, now you see that box? Type something, _anything_ then press 'go' alright? See, I'm practically on my knees. **

**Puff: No she's not, she's sitting up in bed. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Nyx: Jeesh it's been a while. I promise I'm not a zombie.**

**Puff: Graaaaaaiins.**

**Nyx: Christmas is coming up...eh, moving on. Don't own, happy reading.**

* * *

Chapter 12.

The doorbell rang insistently and I staggered grudgingly out of bed to answer it, rubbing my eyes. The doorbell continued to ring and I finally yelled in frustration, "Fine! I'm coming! Shut up!" I gripped the banister, finally making it to the front door in one peace to find Alice standing on the front steps, smiling and bouncing like it wasn't five 'o clock in the morning and my sister and I weren't exhausted from staying up late to finish the homework that we had missed.

"Do you realize what time it is?" I said as calmly as I could, barely able to keep my eyes open.

"Yes...?" Alice asked frowning, "I came over to help you guys get ready to school!"

"We're not five, Alice," I said tiredly, "we're perfectly capable of dressing ourselves. School doesn't start for another two and a half hours. Now shoo."

"Bella please?" Alice begged and was probably attempting to give me her best pout ever but I was so groggy that I could barely see her face.

"No," I said, closing the door and Moving the lock shut before I could shuffle up the stairs. Alice started ringing the doorbell again but I resolved to ignore her. I buried my head underneath my pillow, and pulled the covers up so that I was completely covered before closing my eyes and starting to fall asleep again.

About forty five minutes later a peculiar tapping at my window had me blearily opening one eye and I pulled my head from within my cocoon of warmth and saw Alice's little pixie face pressed against the glass of my window.

"Bella, come on!" she said, "It's cold and windy out here. And I don't know how much longer I can hold on!" I gave a heaving sigh, exasperated and beyond tired, climbing slowly out of bed and dragging my feet to the window. "I have half a mind to shove you," I told her, opening my window, "you're lucky I'm a decent person."

Alice crawled through my window, somehow managing to make it look like a complicated and yet effortless dance move. She stood in the middle of my room, surveying the contents before concluding, "Hmm...cozy." then she invaded my closet, letting out a gasp of horror and I closed my eyes in exasperation.

"Alice...if you don't get your happy ass downstairs and back to your own house, I'll be forced to take measures I don't really want to take."

"Oh hush Bella, I'm only trying to help," she said, "I mean...look at this!" she gestured to my closet.

"Well, you're not helping," I snapped, irritation becoming prevalent over my exhaustion, "you're only serving to make me even more tired and irritated." she turned to me with a pout but I wasn't having it. I pointed to the door and her pout got even more dramatic. A person would have to be heartless or soulless in order to turn away from that pout, and it was good thing that I was both.

I gave her a withering glare silently telling her that I was definitely not in the mood for this. Finally relenting, she walked dejectedly out of my bedroom and I watched her go down the stairs and towards the front door. "I'm sorry I bothered you Bella," she said sounding a bit remorseful, Cassie chose to walk out of her bedroom at that moment looking irritated.

"Would you keep the noise level down? Jeesh!" then she noticed Alice standing there, "What the hell Alice?! School doesn't start for at least another hour!" she exclaimed.

"I came over to help you guys look nice for school," she said.

"Why the fuck would we wanna look nice for school?" Cassie demanded, "It's school! We're not trying to impress anyone! Gawd, don't you have a life?"

"No," Alice said simply. Cassie and I both groaned, exchanging a look before Cassie turned on her heel and stalked back into her bedroom shutting the door behind her. "Look Alice, we're just not in the mood. Cassie was sick all night, I had to clean up vomit and shit, we'll talk about doing this another day alright?" She brightened at that, and I internally kicked myself for getting the girl's hopes up. She skipped out the door, "I'll see you two later!" she sang and I kicked the door shut, stomping back upstairs and collapsing into my bed with a huff.

It should be illegal to be so fucking perky at this hour of the morning, and I was sure I'd find a way to make it happen eventually. I buried my face in my soft feather pillow with a frustrated sound between a groan and a growl, drifting in an out of unconscious and slamming my hand down on my alarm clock before the second blaring note could sound to wake me up. I rolled out of bed, happily looking like the mess that I was, going into the bathroom to wash my face to wake myself up.

Cassie came in, eyes pink with exhaustion and her face still a little pale from yesterday's ordeal, but she looked a great deal better. She shut the door with her butt, stripping tiredly and climbing into the shower.

I brushed my teeth while she scrubbed herself, making faces at myself in the mirror when my mouth was all foamy with minty bubbles before spitting and rinsing. Cassie stepped out of the shower, blonde hair damp and dripping wet, grabbing the towel and wrapping it around herself while I set to making my hair look somewhat decent, though it quickly became obvious that I was going to have one of those days where my hair just didn't want to behave. I muttered to myself as I pulled and tugged and brushed it into submission pulling it back into a bun and leaving it at that.

I left Cassie to ready herself for the day and shuffled into my room, kicking the door shut behind me before going to my closet. And looking at it now I could understand why someone as fashion-oriented as Alice would gasp in horror upon looking at it, because all my wardrobe consisted of was jeans and t-shirts. One half had all of my denim, mostly with the same wash and color lined up neatly on one half while the other half were my neatly arrayed t-shirts, in several colors.

Some with witticisms, some were old band-tees I'd picked up somewhere. The only brightly colored shirt I owned was orange which I found in the dumpster when Cassie and I were eleven and somewhere in Chicago. It had been left in the bag, perfectly intact with a tag on it, but I suppose it was disposed of due to the outline of a vagina on the front and in white letters 'Don't Mess With Texas Women'.

I settled for an my black Metallica t-shirt, practically threadbare with several holes in the hem and my hoodie. I pulled on my shoes, snatched up my backpack and made sure all my homework was intact before I sauntered downstairs and into the kitchen for something to eat. I pulled out the basic essentials for a breakfast consisting of milk and cereal and set them on the table, Moving everything towards me and happily tucking in.

Cassie wasn't too far behind, her outfit pretty much the same as mine, if a bit paint splattered. So far, our day was pretty routine, save for Alice's invasion earlier that morning. Charlie left promptly for work at five-forty-five after his daily intake of coffee and a bagel, or some toast if he managed to get the toaster to work properly, we got up at six-thirty, were out the door by six-fifty and made it school promptly at seven-fifteen. We were like clockwork, after all the years of chaos it was natural to desire a bit of structure. "You got all your homework done?" Cassie asked through a mouthful of Cookie Crisp, and I crunched for a moment before swallowing, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

"Yep. You?"

"That damn essay for Ross nearly gave me a hernia," Cassie said stabbing viciously into her cereal, the spoon hitting the bottom of the bowl with a low plunk.

"You're reading _Gatsby_ right?" I asked.

"Ugh, I hate that fucking book," she lamented, "how the hell am I supposed to know the symbolism behind the light at the end of Daisy's dock or whatever?"

"Uh...you're an artist," I said, "aren't you supposed to be in touch with the deep shit? Besides, you usually do well in English."

"Not when I hate the reading!" Cassie said, "How am I supposed to write a legit piece if I can't connect?" I blinked at her and then shrugged turning back to my cereal,

"B.S. it," I told her.

"See, this is why you're the smart one," she said, taking a pointed bite of cereal. After finishing up our breakfast and leaving our dishes to soak in the sink, I took the keys and we loaded ourselves into our Mini Cooper, pulling up to the school at seven-fourteen on the dot. "A minute early," I said, cutting the engine.

"Oh how I look forward to today," Cassie said with evident sarcasm. I snorted in agreement, getting out of the car and opening the rear door, reaching for my backpack and hitching it over my shoulder, catching the pale figures of solidarity that were the Cullens.

They were hanging out by the Volvo they usually rode in, and their attention was on us the minute we extricated ourselves from our car. I kept my face composed trying to quell the growing distaste in my stomach. Thankfully the bell rang, saving us from having to approach them or vice versa. Cassie and I walked side by side to the building, "Thank fucking God today's Friday," she said, "I am so ready for this week to be over."

"No you're not, you have that project for the art exhibition due next week remember?" I reminded her much to her chagrin.

"I've been working on it, my muse is failing me," she said bitterly.

"I'm starting to wonder if you have a muse at all," I replied.

"Of course I have a muse!" she exclaimed, "all artists do."

"Whatever floats your boat," I shrugged, turning towards my locker, putting in the combination and pulling out the textbooks I needed.

"You should stop worrying so much," Cassie told me and I glanced at her, her raised eyebrow telling me she knew very much what I felt about our newfound interaction with the Cullen family. Her taunts about Jasper bouncing around my noggin, which annoyed me greatly.

"See you at lunch," I told her, closing my locker. She nodded and we went our separate ways. I went to my first hour and plopped my make-up work onto the teacher's desk before I went to sit in my seat. Resting my head in my hand and trying to keep my eyes open throughout the entire lesson.

By the time lunch came around I was itching for entertainment. Cassie met me at the door and we went to stand in line for lunch, I opted for an apple and a little helping of broccoli and carrot sticks while Cassie went for the questionable curly fries. "You know, it won't kill you to eat actual school food for once," she told me as we walked to the table. I snorted.

"You wanna bet?" I asked her, "I wrote an entire paper for Health class on what actually goes into school food, I'll gladly print you a copy."

"I'll pass," she told me when we sat down, "ignorance is bliss." she said eating a curly fry and I took a bite of my apple, making a face at her as I did so. The Cullen kids finally joined us, several of them with their lunch, the others choosing to forgo the god-awful excuse for nutrition.

"What's shakin' bacon?" Emmett asked us.

"My name isn't bacon," we both chorused.

"Whoa, that was creepy," he said, "Do it again!" we exchanged a look and almost immediately snorted with laughter, trying to suppress it.

Then I noticed that a certain member of the table was missing, "Hey, where's Copper Top?" I asked, they all snickered.

"Copper Top?" Jasper asked.

"Yeah, you know 'cause he's a ginger," I explained. Cassie laughed then immediately tried to squash it, eating a curly fry. Emmett's amused face was a bit secretive like there was an inside joke, though Alice didn't seem to think that it was that funny.

Our lunch pretty much consisted of exchanging 'that's what she said' jokes with Emmett much to the chagrin of the rest of the table, but I think getting along with the friendly giant wouldn't be an issue. He was the most liberal of the bunch, Rosalie and Edward being the ones with the biggest sticks shoved up their asses.

So history wasn't spent with boredom leaking out of my ears thanks to Emmett's witticisms but theater was a pain in the ass, even with Cassie there. "I don't think being friends with them will be a bad thing," Cassie said on the way out of class.

"I'm still debating," I told her.

"Oh come on," she protested, "we can't be wallflowers forever."

"It's the only way to survive," I replied, "and you know as well as I do that this won't last forever."

"It couldn't hurt," Cassie shrugged, opening the passenger side door. "We'll move away or they will and we'll never see them again. Chances are they'll forget about us. People always do."

"See, that seems to be part of our bad luck, that we're never forgotten," I said, getting into the car.

"Always the pessimist," Cassie sighed, shutting her door.

* * *

**Nyx: I know, finally! Thoughts?**

**Puff: Can I throw pennies this time?**

**Nyx: NO!**

**Puff: ):**


	13. Chapter 13

**Nyx: Holy Poseidon, I want to apologize for the absolutely atrocious delay. Forgive me, RL is awful and I've got my hands full with other projects. **

**Puff: One is on standby since the collaborator went missing...or got murdered...either way she ain't respondin'. **

**Nyx: Positive thoughts, Puff! Positive! Now, I won't waste your time with groveling about how sorry I am for disappearing on you all. So, I don't own, OCs are mine. Happy reading! **

* * *

Chapter 13.

"Why is nothing ever on TV?" I muttered flipping through channels.

"Maybe because you have ridiculous standards when it comes to television, Bella," Cassie said sitting next to me, propping her bowl of cereal in her Spongebob covered lap, shoving her hair out of her face even though I knew if she didn't tie it back she was going to end up with a mouthful of hairy Lucky Charms, despite the fact that I'd told her this well over one hundred times in the past I'd given up on reminding her to tie her hair back when she ate.

I sighed and continued to channel surf, "Perhaps you're right," I said, before settling on Boomerang.

"Seriously? _Josie and the Pussycats_?" Cassie asked, "Who the fuck watches this shit?"

"It's almost over," I told her, "_Samurai Jack_ is coming on next." Cassie didn't argue with me, continuing to eat her cereal while I watched TV, glancing at the clock on the cable box for two seconds. "Five," I started.

"Four, three, two, one," Cassie muttered, finishing the countdown and Charlie promptly entered the house.

"Morning girls," he greeted.

"Morning dad," we chorused.

"Your eggs are microwave," I told him.

"You're both saints," he told us. His statement would have held if the doorbell didn't ring at that moment. He went to answer it and several moments later called for the both of us.

"Cassie, B, your,er, friend is here," he called and we both exchanged a look, getting up from the couch and walking over to the front door to find Alice on our front stoop beaming.

"Hi," she greeted us.

"Er...hi," Cassie muttered while I struggled to hold in a groan.

"Alice..." I started with a sigh.

"Oh, please, you two, please?" Alice pouted, "I promise it will be just this once." my sister and I exchanged a look.

"What did you have in mind Alice?" I asked.

"Well...Halloween is coming up," she said hesitantly. It didn't take the both of us long to fill in the blanks. "No," we both said in unison, point blank. Division may have been preoccupied with the Chinese government but we weren't taking any fucking chances.

"Wait wait wait," she said, "it's a little nondescript boutique in Port Angeles, I promise it'll be amazing. We'll even get some burgers and ice cream afterwards." Cassie and I exchanged another look, the both of us being secretly fat the sound of ice cream and greasy burgers sounded fucktastic.

"Fine," I said.

"But," Cassie added, "only that one store, we're not serial shoppers like you."

"And, we do expect to be fed," I continued and Alice smiled so wide it was a wonder her face didn't crack.

"Yay!" she said, "We'll be waiting for you in the car."

"Er...'we'?" I asked.

"Rosalie," she pointed to the cherry red M3 sitting at the end of the drive at the front of the house and I just stared at the car rather than the gorgeous Ice Bitch driving it.

"We'll be ready in five minutes," Cassie told Alice, knowing my weakness for fast vehicles and pulled me inside, ignoring my whining when the door closed and cut off my view.

"Cass," I whined.

"You can drool over the engine later," Cassie replied, rolling her eyes and we both dispersed upstairs. It literally took us five minutes to get ready, not bothering with shit like color coordination and we both ended up in matching jeans (we didn't do it on purpose, I swear) but contrasting t-shirts. Mine said, 'Show dick some respect!', while Cassie's had a graphic of Jack Skellington on it.

Alice was horrified at our selection of clothes but Rosalie commented that Emmett would get a kick out of my shirt.

Probably the nicest thing she's said to me as of late.

Needless to say, the ride to Port Angeles was awkward, while Alice tried to spur conversation (which meant she kept up a running monologue the whole drive), Rosalie kept her eyes on the road, adding a comment here and there while Cassie and I just sat there. This is testament to our absolutely rubbish social skills and why we avoid talking to anyone else in general.

Alice was talking about an Alice in Wonderland theme for her party, now that she had a pair of twins to dress up as Tweedledee and Tweedledum, Cassie and I exchanged a look intending to shut that idea down before Alice could put together some costumes. We did occasionally do that weird twin thing where we finished each others sentences, like the weird duo from Alice in Wonderland, but it was mainly on purpose to freak people out when unwanted persons approached us.

Now we were stuck in a obscenely gorgeous car with two equally obscenely gorgeous girls from school who were dubbed to be just as weird as we are. "Of course you'll have to dye your hair to match," Alice was babbling, "though even I would have a hard time telling you apart if you did that..." and I went back to tuning her out. We arrived at the aforementioned 'nondescript boutique'.

There wasn't much in the windows, empty mannequins with strange hats and whatnot but apparently Alice thought it was all genius. Apparently the woman who owned the shop tailored each piece to fit the client, and each was totally unique...and insanely expensive. Cassie shrugged, "It's got artistic appeal," she told me, "my inner fashionista? Not so much." I snorted lowly at the sarcasm.

If Cassie was a fashionista then I was a bright pink platypus that liked to dance in toe shoes. I was no fashionista either, seeing as I would rather put knives in my eyes than put on the contraption that Alice was holding up. "It would so suit you," she was saying, and the look I gave her was nothing short of absolute horror.

"Satan would have a snowball fight in Hell before I try to fit my ass into that," I pointed. "Alice, I thought we were here to help _you_ pick out a costume."

"Yeah, pick out a costume for you," she said smiling brightly. Cassie slunk off to another corner of the store while I facepalmed.

"Alice, buying either of us a costume will be a waste of money," I told the mischievous waif.

"No it won't-" she began.

"Because I will use the pieces to start a bonfire," I continued, "gasoline, matches, the whole shebang." Alice gave me a scandalized look, like she couldn't believe I would actually attempt to do such a thing to a poor harmless piece of fashion. Alice opened her mouth, presumably to laugh me off but Cassie piped up, "I wouldn't write her off Alice, she's got the look," she said.

"What look?" Rosalie said with her characteristic sneer.

"The look she gets when she's determined to face something down, or tackle a difficult piece of machinery," Cassie said before holding up a sparkly blue dress, "how about this Alice? You'd be cute as an ice fairy...thingy." the discussion of me wearing the costume ended after my supreme objection to doing so.

Halloween wasn't something Cassie and I generally participated in, as judging from our past experiences...it never turned out well for us. Usually the holiday was spent squatting somewhere or trying not to bash in the heads of idiotic teenagers...so we usually stayed at home. Alice trying to get us to go to her Halloween party was a no-go for me. I honestly didn't care what Cassie did as long as she didn't get killed or arrested, I was content to sit at home like the homebody I am.

Alice tried to coerce me twice into trying on Halloween costumes, each one she displayed looking tighter than the last. I don't think Alice realized that I ate a lot of pasta and gorged on sweets when I could, thus I wasn't stick thin like most girls, yet my high metabolism made me burn those calories with a vengeance. Cassie was a bit thinner than I was, so she'd have a better chance of squeezing into a Victorian style corset.

I heinously vetoed anything with tights and anything that looked like a shirt but Alice claimed was a dress. By the time we actually got to the food part I was brimming with an anxiousness to get back home, finish the few chapters I had left of my book and work on my essay for AP American History. Rosalie watched me with a look of fascinated horror as I wolfed down my fries, while she hardly touched her food, probably getting nauseated at the thought of all the carbs I was consuming.

Cassie didn't eat with as much gusto as I did, but still managed to polish off her food and dessert. On the drive home I speculated as to why I'd seen the two girls picking at their meals, other than the cliché excuse of 'watching their figures'. Rosalie was a tall blonde bombshell and I doubted she'd have anything to worry about until she hit her thirties, and Alice's little figure probably wouldn't suffer until she had her first child, not to mention the disgust in their eyes at the greasy food joint, the both of them keeping their faces carefully placid while they pretended to eat.

I fidgeted nervously in the backseat until they pulled up in front of our house, thanking them awkwardly for the day out while I walked stiffly up the drive and into the house, Cassie imparting them with a final wave as Rosalie drove off, the very picture of perfection. Charlie was upstairs sleeping as it was already seven 'o clock, and no doubt had an early shift in the morning. "That was like pulling teeth," I said.

"Oh yeah," Cassie said, "but weirdly...I had fun."

"Food was good," I added half-heartedly and Cassie gave me a look. "What?"

"We need to work on our social skills," she commented and I suddenly giggle-snorted, earning me another odd look.

"Did you see the look on Rosalie's face in the diner?" I asked and Cassie pursed her lips obviously trying not to laugh.

"I'm not surprised, your manners were awful," she said trying to scold me but I only laughed harder. Cassie shook her head, "I'm going to finish my homework," she said, going around me and up the stairs while I followed behind, clutching the railing while I gasped for air in between guffaws.

* * *

**Nyx: Perhaps Bella's finally lost her marbles. **

**Puff: A burger sounds fucktastic right now...**

**Nyx: Quiet, eat your carrots. **

**Puff: *grumbles* **

**Nyx: Review?**


End file.
